Fallout: Equestria - A Robot’s Lament

Chapter 6: The Long Road

“Worst Road Trip Ever”.

I don’t know how long we were running.

I only knew that eventually, Trotsville was nothing but a small line in the distance. The ruined buildings outside the walls were replaced by large empty space and a long, winding, and broken road.

Cyborg ran ahead of me; his face scrunched in determination and concentration. He lead the way along the road until Trotsville was a small sliver in the distance.

“Let’s stop here,” said Cyborg. He slowed down and took a few deep breaths. I just watched: not having any lungs did have its advantages.

“Do you need a minute,” I asked.

“More like an hour,” said Cyborg. He planted his flank on the ground as his breaths became smaller and shorter. “I think we’re safe for now”.

I found that hard to believe. Now we couldn’t return to Trotsville and we were stuck in the wasteland. The only thing around us were shrubs and a broken road. It wasn’t the best thing to have when on the run.

“So,” said Cyborg. “Where to now?”

“What?”

“Where to,” he asked again. “I’m following you now, so where are we going?”

It was then that I remembered why I wanted out of that town so badly.

“Well in the video, Hatchet said he was heading to Buck Crossing”. I tapped my chin in deep thought, then looked at Cyborg. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Do I,” said Cyborg. “It’s not exactly the place you want to go to….unless you’re either really crazy or really stupid”.

Well then I guess I was one or the other. But I needed more information.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about it?”

Cyborg looked at me and sighed. “It’s a dump town; filled with drunk bastards and whores. Mainly because it’s on the border of Raider County”.

“Raider County,” I asked?

“Yeah,” said Cyborg. “It’s a stretch of land between Buck Crossings and Tunnel 11. It’s like a safe-haven for raiders around the Wasteland. Traveling through it is suicide; the few that make it through are so close to death that you’d think they’d have just let the raiders finish them off”.

“That sounds horrible”.

Simple, but true. I couldn’t even picture what the landscape must look like, at least compared to the one I was already looking at. But really, it didn’t matter. As long as I got to Buck Crossing I’d be fine. I wasn’t interested in traveling through the County, I just needed to find the pony in the town next to it.

“How far away do you think Buck Crossing is?” I pulled up my map functions and began to search the area.

“Three, maybe four days,” said Cyborg. “And that’s if we don’t run into anything on the way there”.

As far as I knew, we wouldn’t. I’d been down the 34 before the war, and it was usually pretty quiet. And when I check my map, I saw a blank box a good distance from where we were now. I clicked it, and a small arrow appeared in my vision. It pointed north, which would take us onto the 34.

“Well we’d better get going then,” I said as I moved in the direction the arrow was pointing. “If we want to make it there quickly, we should move out now”.

Cyborg, who was now breathing normally, ran up to my side. His face was formed in a look of uncertainty. “How do you know this is the right way?”

“I have a map,” I said, pointing to my head. “Part of the Pip-Buck chip I have in my hard drive”.

“P.A.B.s were built with Pip-Buck chips?”

“No, it was added in after I was reactivated,” I replied.

“Well that explains the radio and good shooting. Pip-Bucks are one of the most valuable pieces of technology; mainly because of how diverse their functions are”.

That was something I already knew about. Even though I’d only had the chip for a few days (or longer), it was already giving me functions I never knew I could have. And, it was especially useful when dealing with things in the Wasteland.

I just hoped that it would last long enough for me to find my masters.

“So,” said Cyborg. “You want to walk and talk, or just walk?”

I looked at the stallion with some confusion. “Uh, either one’s fine with me”.

Honestly, it felt strange traveling with somepony else. I’d only done so when I was with Caliber’s group, and when I was heading back to Trotsville with Cyborg. But they had been rather short trips; this one was going to be a lot longer.

“If that’s the case, why not talk a little about each other. If we’re traveling together, we might as well know who we’re traveling with,” said Cyborg.

“Not much to tell really,” I said with a shrug. “I was a butler before the war. I was deactivated when the megaspells went off, and I woke up a few days ago….by the way; how long was I offline in Trotsville?”

“Three days,” said Cyborg.

“So I woke up just six days ago? It seems longer than that.”

“Everyday seems longer in the wasteland,” he replied. “What we have to face on a daily basis makes time move slower than it actually is. Things just aren’t the same as they were back before the war”.

“Speaking of which,” I said as I looked up at the clouds above. “Do pegasus’ still control the weather? It’s been cloudy every since I reactivated”.

Cyborg snorted. “Those winged cunts? They don’t care about the weather anymore. Hell, they’re the ones who keep the cloud cover over us.”

That didn’t seem right. I knew pegasus’, and they wouldn’t do something as cruel as that!

“Don’t they care about the ponies down here?”

“Maybe some do,” said Cyborg, "but the vast majority don't give two shits out us. They live their pretty little lives up there, and leave us to fight for ours down here. If you see a pegasus below the clouds, either it did something wrong up there or it’s part of a scouting party”.

That seemed almost too upsetting to be true. How could pegasus’ just abandon pony kind like it was nothing. Ponies were dying down here, and they were living it up above it all.

I would have gone on ranting in my head….but then I heard something. It sounded like music….one that I had heard somewhere before. It was like a marching ballard, one that would be broadcast over the radio. But my radio was off, so I looked around for another source.

“You hear that,” I asked.

Cyborg perked his ears, listen carefully to the sounds around us. “Yeah, it’s music. What’s so important about….wait a second, I know that music!”

“Me too,” I replied. “But I can’t figure out where I heard it”.

“No,” said Cyborg. “I mean I know what’s making it!”

I was about to ask what, but I got my answer before I could.

When I looked up ahead, I saw something floating towards us. As it got closer, I saw that it was round, metal, and had fluttering wings. It was almost bouncing to the sound of the music….and that’s when I remembered it.

“A Sprite-Bot!”

There had been hundreds of them around before the war. They flew all over the place, sending out uplifting messages and sometimes news bulletins.

“I didn’t know these things were still active,” I said as the bot got closer.

But when the bot was only a foot from us, it stopped. The music cut off, and there was a low static noise for a second. But then…

“Hello, can you hear me?”

That was a voice….a VOICE! Sprite-Bots weren’t supposed to have a voice, let alone a mind! I didn’t know what radiation could do, but I was sure it couldn’t affect technology.

“Yes Watcher, I can hear you!”

I turned to Cyborg, who’s face was formed into a big smile.

“Cyborg? Is that you?”

“Yes it is,” replied Cyborg. “It’s nice to talk to you again.”

“Same here. But what are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in your observatory?”

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, yeah. Well there was a slight problem and now I can’t live there anymore. Trotsville wasn’t an option either, and I don’t care to explain either in detail”.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I knew how much you liked living there”. The Sprite-Bot turned towards me. “By the way, who’s your friend?”

Cyborg looked at me, then let out a small chuckle. “Oh right. Watcher this is Garcon. Garcon, this is Watcher”.

“Nice to meet you Garcon”.

“Uh….likewise,” I said nervously. “I, uh, didn’t know Sprite-Bots could talk”.

“They can’t. I’m just using it to talk with you”.

“Oh, I see. You’re talking through a speaker system and transmitting the signal to this Sprite-Bot. Not bad,” I said smiling.

“You know your stuff Garcon. I can see why Cyborg is traveling with you”.

“That and other reasons,” said Cyborg. “Me and Watcher have been friends long before you busted into my home Garcon”.

“You should have see him when I first ran into him. Sitting in a pile of mole rat guts and ready to….”

“Okay,” interrupted Cyborg. “We don’t need to go over that!”

“I don’t know,” I replied with a grin. “I’m feeling curious”.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. “Anyway, it was Watcher who said I should go to Trotsville. He told me ponies there don’t care about your past, which is just what I wanted”.

After the experience I just had with them, I found that hard to believe. Even if some ponies thought I was good, some of them thought I was evil. And if the reason was just because I was a robot, then it didn’t seem very welcoming.

“So what are the two of you doing out here?”

This time, I decided to take the lead. “We’re heading to Buck Crossing”.

“WHAT!” Watcher’s reaction was just what I was expecting. “You know that place is dangerous right? Nothing but law breakers and sex addicts!”

“So I’ve been told,” I replied with a grin. “But I need to,” my face and attitude suddenly turned serious. “There’s a hired gun there that took my family, and I made a promise to find them”.

Watcher was silent for a minute. “Wow, I didn’t expect that. I’m sorry that happened to you. Where were they taken from?”

“Stable 32,” I replied, “just outside Paradise Acres”.

“A Stable? How’d he even get in there? And weren’t there any guards or other ponies to stop him?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a normal stable”. I thought back to the memory orb I’d witnessed. How the ponies in the radiation suites said that Stable-Tec was gone. “They, along with most of the residence, were frozen in these pod-like-machines. I doubt anyone who wasn’t frozen could survive one-hundred and ninety years”.

“Wow, pre-war ponies? And they were held in cryostasis? Geeze, and I thought stable-tec only focused on ways to hurt ponies”.

I had a feeling he saw my “what are you talking about” face, and let out a slight cough. “Anyway, I assume you were thawed out later than the rest of them?”

To answer that question, I’d have to tell Watcher that I was a robot. I didn’t know him well enough to decide by myself, so I turned to Cyborg. He looked at me, nodded, and then motioned to the Sprite-Bot.

I let out a large sigh. “No, I wasn’t even thawed in the first place. I spent the last one-hundred and ninety years deactivated and buried under a pile of dirt”.

“Deactivated? Wait, does that mean your a….”

“Yes, I am a robot”. I wasn’t ashamed of it; it was what made me, well, me. But I couldn’t tell who liked robots that looked like ponies from the ones that hated them. It was give and take with what I’d seen so far, and I wasn’t willing to press my luck just yet.

“Oh, wow. Well I must say, you’re probably the most advanced Pre-War robot I’ve ever seen. Most are just mindless machines, but you’re like those Synths that TSIM make!”

“Yeah,” I said half-heartedly, “I get that a lot”.

“Speaking of which,” said Cyborg, “you probably shouldn’t take a Sprite-Bot near Trotsville for a while. Synths attacked the place a few days ago, and they’re a little jumpy when it comes to machines”.

“Oh sweet Celestia! Is everyone okay? How bad was it?”

“Very bad,” I said frowning. “The town went from full to a third of the way full”.

The sight of all those bodies….all that blood….it all came flowing back to me! The eyes that stared at you, the red guts that spilled from their insides! Now I was really glad that I didn’t have a stomach!

“Thats, that’s hard to hear. I’ll be sure to find some ponies who can help and send them their way. Hopefully Trotsville will be back on it’s hooves soon”.

The Sprite-Bot buzzed. “Woops, looks like I’ll have to leave soon. Just a friendly tip before I go: if you’re head along the 34, keep an eye out. Red-Eye has been sending his slavers down from Fillydelphia, and they’re picking off any pony who doesn’t kill them first”.

I had no idea what Watcher was talking about, but apparently Cyborg did. He gave the Sprite-Bot a nod, “thanks for the info Watcher. I’ll try and contact you when we reach Buck Crossing”.

“I’ll be listening. Good luck to both for you: I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

The Sprite-Bot buzzed again before the “Ballard of the Parasprites” began again. The bot flew between us and headed down the stretch of road behind us.

Cyborg watched the Sprite-Bot fly away until it was not longer in sight. He turned to me, then nodded in the other direction. “Come on,” he said. “We should get going. It’s best to cover as much ground as possible before it gets dark”.

He turned on his hooves and began heading down the road. After looking back in the direction the Sprite-Bot had floated, I sighed and followed behind him.

Nothing really happened for a while after that.

We continued down the road with the radio on, listening to the sweet music of Sweetie Bell and Sapphire Shores. Occasionally we ran into a broken down cart or pit-stop, but overall it was very quiet for most of the way.

Finally, after a few hours of walking, we reached the 34. The ramp that lead up to it was on the right, while the road continued on the left. A few buildings could be see further down, but nothing about them said “check them out”.

As the two of us walked up the ramp, I began to think about something I hadn’t before. When I got to Buck Crossing and found Hatchet, what exactly was I going to do?

Would I just ask him where my family is? Would I threaten him? Should I just give him some caps and ask? More importantly; how would he react to the questions?

“Thinking about something?” I looked at Cyborg, but he kept his face forward. “I’ve see that look before; you’re thinking about something”.

Wow, was it really that obvious? “I’m just wondering what I’m going to do when I find Hatchet. I mean, I don’t think he’s just going to tell me where my family is”.

“Of course he isn’t,” said Cyborg. “You’ll more than likely have to force it out of him.”

“Yeah, but how,” I asked.

Cyborg shrugged. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it”.

Seeing that as a great idea, I kept my sights forward as we moved onto the 34. Unlike the road behind us, the 34 was filled with abandoned carts and other broken vehicles.

Unfortunately, those weren’t the only things we saw. Hooked up to a few carts were skeletons: probably killed when the megaspells went off. Some were burned so bad the bones were cracked and smoldered black.

“I wonder what they were thinking,” I said as I started walked ahead. Cyborg followed behind me; he too was looking at the skeletons lining the highway. “What was going through their mind when the megaspells went off?”

“Maybe they were too scared to think,” said Cyborg.

I thought back to the megaspell that had deactivated me. The moment it had gone off, I couldn’t move. I just stood there and watched as the shockwave tore through me. And if a robot like me acted like that, I couldn’t even think about what was going through normal ponies’ heads.

So with that cheerful thought safely in the processor, me and Cyborg continued along the 34. The carts and skeletons began to become scarce as we moved farther and farther north. Eventually we were lucky to find a single kart along the deserted highway.

I was tempted to switch to a different radio station, but after a while I failed to care. The Whisperer hadn’t been on since we tuned in, and the music did offer some feelings of joy during the dark and gloomy walk.

Unfortunately, one of those things didn’t last long.

The two of us continued walking until we came upon another cluster of carts. But unlike the others, these were piled along the side of the road. They lay one atop the other; making a wall of carts all along the sides of the highway.

“That’s new,” I said quietly. The way the carts were stacked didn’t seem like coincidence. It looked more like they were placed there….but why?

“Yeah,” replied Cyborg. “And get this: I don’t like it”.

“Should we go around it? Or maybe head back and find another way?”

Cyborg shook his head. “I don’t think going back is going to help us”.

I was about to ask him what he was talking about….when I saw a red bar.

My E.F.S. hadn’t really been in use since I rescued Caliber’s group from the ghouls a few days back. But now, red bars were popping up all over my vision. Even when I looked back, I was looking at hostile targets.

“Shit: we’re surrounded,” I said through gritted teeth.

I guess the hostiles must have heard me, because my ears soon picked up what sounded like chuckles. Keeping my eyes peeled, I scanned the area; looking for any sign of the ponies surrounding us. I could tell from the laugh that they weren’t some kind of creature, but that really didn’t make me feel any better.

And I still wasn’t feeling any better when the shots rang out.

I barely had time to look around before a gun went off from inside the wall of carts. A second later I felt something shoot through my back leg and come out the other side. All motor control for it stopped and the whole thing went rigid.

Cyborg levitated a 10mm pistol from his bag and began sweeping the area. But when he approached the wall, something jumped at him. Three quick shots rang out, I didn’t hear them hit anything. The gun fell from his magic as he was tackled to the ground.

The pony that was on top of him looked like a earth pony buck. He was wearing a really old shirt and what looked like leather patches of armor. A gun was holstered on his side, and his legs were pressing Cyborg’s face into the ground. The wicked smile on his face told me he was enjoying it.

I ignited by own magic and was about to pull my own gun from my bag. But it hadn’t gotten halfway out when something pressed against the side of my head.

“Don’t do something stupid,” said a voice. “I’d really hate to lose two perfectly good slaves in one go”.

Slaves? Were these the slavers that Watcher had mentioned?

“Are you sure boss,” asked the smiling buck. “We’ve got plenty for today. Let me kill this mecha-leg and we can keep the non-bleeder!”

“Shut your trap Drone,” said another voice. A second went by before more ponies began to emerge from the carts. They all wore armor similar to the one holding Cyborg. I was able to count seven in total, with four of them having guns.

“He’s right,” said the pony behind me. “You heard what Red-Eye said; all unicorns we bring back must be alive. He’d throw us into the pit if he heard we killed either of them”.

The gun was still pressed against my head, but the pony behind me was moving. As he came into my vision, I saw that he was a unicorn stallion. He had a light brown pelt and a ruffled black mane, and what looked like a bullet going through a skull as his cutie mark.

I then looked to see what kind of armor he was wearing. It looked like a black jacket with a red shirt below it. I saw two small lumps above his knees, meaning he must be wearing knee-pads.

He gave me a look over, then turned to Cyborg. “Rare to find two unicorns traveling together. Hell, it’s rare to find just one traveling down this highway”.

Keeping the gun pressed against my head, he looked down at the bullet hole in my leg. Wires could be seen poking out, and a few sparks fell from them. When he had his share, he looked back at me.

“Hm, a synth? Well you’re not the first one we’ve captured today. Maybe Red-Eye can use you as a replacement terminal, or as a toy for his gals back home?”

“Over my busted hard drive,” I said through gritted teeth. I wasn’t going to let this pony insult me. But given the gun pointed at my head, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to push him too much.

“Oh, you’re a feisty one,” he said with a grin. He moved his face closer until his nose was almost touching mine. “I like those kind of slaves; makes it even more fun when we break their spirits”.

When he pulled away, the gun moved from the side of my head to the front. Now I was literally “staring down the barrel” as it were. The hammer was pulled down until the distinc “click” was heard.

“Now here’s how things are gonna play out. You two are coming with us. Try anything, and we shoot you”. He leaned in close again. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Very,” I hissed.

“Good,” he said as he pulled the gun away from me. “Chain them up colts, we’re heading out”.

I watched as one of the slavers pulled out a set of rusty ankle restraints. He quickly attached one to my left leg, then yanked on it: pulling me over to Cyborg. When I was close enough, the other end was attached to his right leg. Now, the two of us were chained together like the chain gangs in old movies.

“Move,” shouted a slaver. He gave me a swift kick….and was rubbing his leg in anguish a second later. “Shit, forgot you were metal!”

I almost thought about laughing, but that was squashed when I received a blow to the face. I heard something below the “skin” bend and not form back into place. When I turned to see the culprit, I found one of the slavers waving a riot baton around.

“Bad ponies get the shit beat out of them,” he snarled. “I recommend you think twice before injuring one of us again!”

“I didn’t injury him, he was the….”

The batton once again made contact with me, but this time it was the back of my head. I didn’t hear anything break, but my vision did become fuzzy for a few seconds.

“Don’t talk back,” the slaver barked.

“And don’t break the merchandise,” said the jacket pony. “Or I’ll inform Red-Eye about it”.

The slaver stopped swinging his baton and quickly slung it around his back. “No need to go that far boss.”

“There is a need,” he replied before walking forward. The other slavers, along with Cyborg and myself, followed from behind. “The only way you bozos will listen is if I bring Red-Eye into the conversation. Only a bullet in your legs would do otherwise, and I don’t feel like harming ponies that do the dirty work”.

“Uh, that’s us right?” asked one of the slavers.

The lead pony sighed and bowed his head. Clearly he was, but I guess not all slavers were very bright. Hell, if they listened only by force, then they must not have enough intelligence to understand orders.

I continued to think about the slavers around us as the group walked down the highway. There weren’t any carts out this far; just a few rotten trees and holes where something big fell from the sky.

We walked for about an hour, with only the slavers making small talk between each other. The lead pony didn’t say a word; he was focused on the road ahead. I could tell by the look on his face that he was used to this, and was in his element when it came to leading.

For some reason, it reminded me a little of Master Smithson. He was always the head of the family; making all the tough and sometimes challenging decisions. Everypony who knew him also knew he was the pony to turn to when things went wrong.

But if that was true, then why was this pony wasting his talent being a slaver?

“Almost there,” said the ‘Boss’ (as I decided to call him). The other slavers sighed in relief, and I swear Cyborg did too. There hooves must have been aching, but being made of metal meant I felt fine.

Well, except for the leg with a hole in it. That was still sparking, and the stiffness made it a little harder to walk.

I told myself that I had to repair it soon, or else the damage would get worse and it would be almost impossible to fix. I doubt that Robronco still made parts for my model, so I just had to hope the parts Cyborg packed will work.

That is, if I could get them back from the ponies surrounding us. They’d taken our bags once we started walking, and I didn’t want to use my magic to try and get it back. If I did, it could mean one of us would have a new bullet in our body.

When I looked up ahead of us, I saw something situated on the side of the road. It looked like a simple two-floor building; probably a rest stop from before the war. Faded/rotten wood covered the outside, and barbed wiring surrounded the bottom. A single balcony on the side was heavily fortified, and I could make out a set of ears poking out from behind it.

“Ah, home sweet home,” said one of the slavers. “Let’s get these cunts in fast so I can get some grub!”

“Patients,” said the Boss. “We need to file out the inventory”. He turned and pointed a hoof in my direction. “Take the synth to the cellar. Place the freak in with the others. Any supplies they have goes into the crate with the others”.

“Right boss,” said one of the slavers. He moved over and unlocked the chain on my leg. But just as soon as it was gone, something clamped around my neck. It felt like metal, but had a leather padding around it.

“Some kind of collar….might be electric,” I thought. Slave collars were primarily used in Prisoner of War camps for the Zebras, both as a way of keeping them in line and torturing them.

“Move it synth,” he snarled before pushing me towards the building. I sighed before walking towards the building’s front door. It looked fine from afar, but as I got closer I noticed the words “Intruders Will Be Fucked, Then Killed” were painted on.

“Charming,” I said to myself.

The slavers opened the door and lead me inside. Instantly I was plunged into a room of semi-darkness and loud music. The room looked to be around the size of a large living room. It had bare walls, and a very old couch plastered in the bottom corner.

A long dining table sat on the other side, and was currently occupied by what looked like other slavers. But unlike the ones that had brought me in, these were all mares. Some had on what could pass for armor, while others wore old pre-war clothes.

They were all playing cards, but turned towards the door when the three of us walked inside. One of the mares pulled a cigar from her mouth, placed it in an ashtray, and smiled smugly at us.

“Well, well, well,” she sang, “look who’s back. We’ve been wondering how long we’d have to wait before it was our turn to go out”.

Another mare on the opposite end hopped out of her chair and walked over to us. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days; bags hung under her eyes and the eyes themselves were bloodshot. But at the same time, she acted like she was full of energy. She circled around me; likely looking me over as their boss had.

“Ah, another cybernetic scrap pile,” she purred. “Tell me synth, are you built to be just like a real stallion?”

I didn’t know how I should respond to that question. But I was forced to think quickly when one of the slavers gave me a kick in the flanks. “Answer her question fucker!”

“Uh, well, I’m not sure what you mean by that”.

The mare’s grin grew. “You know; do you have similar body parts as a stallion. And that includes ones that are,” she looked back towards my rear, “made to make a mare?”

Wait, was she talking about….oh my Celestia she was! “Oh, no. I’m not built to….buck….if that’s what you mean”.

The mare’s grin reformed into a disappointed frown. “Shit, I was hoping to get something different tonight. Shackle has gotten boring, and my time with Spine is just too ‘short’ if you know what I mean”.

One of the mares at the table leaned back in her chair and blew smoke from her cigar. “What if he’s got a tongue? Bet he could do some wicked stuff with that!”

A million dirty thoughts filled my processor….and I deleted them a second later. I did have a fake tongue, but I wasn’t planning on licking anything anytime soon. If my master's ever found out, I could only imagine what they’d think.

“You can use him as a sex toy later,” said the slaver left of me. “Boss wants him with the other robo-pony now. Talk with him if you want to use this bot later”.

The mare sighed, “fine, but if he says no I’m doing it anyway”. She turned on the spot and returned to table. The other mares returned their focus to their cards.

“Alright, let’s get this bot with the other one,” said one of the slavers. He headed off towards a door on right side wall. The other one gave me another kick in the flank, which I guess meant I was to follow.

The two of us walked to the door and waited while the other one unlocked it. When it opened, I saw a flight of stairs leading downward. More than likely that meant there was a basement down there, and maybe a holding cell.

We headed down the stairs (which were made of slightly rotten wood) and when we reached the bottom found ourselves in a medium sized room.

It looked like it had once been a storage room; shelves lined the walls and old crates were stacked in the upper right corner. A desk sat next to the stairway, and there was a sleeping unicorn mare behind it.

But what was most noticeable was the large cage placed in the center. It looked like it was made for animals, because it’s size was huge! Age was showing in the rust marks around it, but the lock on the front looked fairly clean.

One of the slavers turned to the sleeping mare and shouted. “Night Light, WAKE UP!”

The mare’s eyes flew open and her head turned towards us. She looked shocked for a second, but then looked like the smug mare upstairs.

“Oh, you colts back already?” She hopped off her chair and moved towards us. “I expected you to arrive after the exchange”.

“Boss decided to head back early,” said one of the slavers. “Caught this one traveling with a unicorn along the 34 before we left”.

“A synth I’m guessing,” she said as she looked me over. “Seems a little different than the other one, but I guess Red-Eye will find use for both of them. If not in the mines, maybe in the Pit!”

I had no idea what she was talking about, especially about this ‘Pit’, and I was sure I didn’t want to know. If there was a place filled with ponies like them, I wanted to stay as far away from it as possible.

The mare ignited her horn and pulled a set of keys from the desk. “Let’s lock him up. I have so sleep to catch up on”. She lead us over to the cage and unlocked the door.

When she pulled it open, the two slavers shoved me inside. They did it hard enough that I fell flat on my face, which prompted laughter from the three. The mare shut the door and relocked it, then turned to the slavers.

“Tell Amber her shift starts in half an hour; I don’t want to be down here longer than I have too”.

“Whatever,” said one of the slavers. “Just remember to keep an eye on the merchandise. This new one is more feisty than the other one”.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep an eye on them. Now either take my shift or get out of my face,” said Night Light.

The slaver turned and headed back up the stairs while Night Light took up her position behind the desk. The keys floated back into the drawer, and Night Lighted leaned her head back while closing her eyes. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of snoring.

I picked myself up off the floor and dusted myself off. “Well, this is great. I get imprisoned in Trotsville, then I get busted out, only to get captured again,” I thought.

But it seemed things were worse this time around. In Trotsville, there had been ponies on my side and wanted me free. But here, my only ally was Cyborg, which wouldn’t be a problem if he wasn’t being held somewhere else!

I sighed and began to pace back and forth across the cage. If I wanted to get out of here, I had to think. But with no supplies, no gun, and no help, I was basically left on my own.

However, after a few paces, I thought of something I hadn’t before. “Magic” I said while tapping my horn.

I may not know teleportation spells or ones for fighting, but I did have telekinesis! “If I could levitate the keys from the desk, then I could get myself out!” I thought.

So I ran up to the side of the cage that faced the desk. Night Light was still asleep, which meant I had to be careful not to wake her up.

With a plan and guts, I ignited my horn and prepared to concentrate on the keys. That is until….

ZAP!

The moment my horn ignited, the collar around my neck light up. And almost instantly I felt volts of electricity course through my body.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “He’s a robot! Electricity should be good for him!”

Well water is good for ponies, but that doesn’t mean you should drink gallons of it at once! And it was a similar experience for robots like myself.

There wasn’t any pain involved, but soon my whole body started fidgeting, and the magic around my horn dispersed. My legs locked up, and I once again fell on my side. After a few seconds, the light turned off and the electricity stopped flowing.

Unfortunately, it didn’t mean the effects just vanished. I laid on the floor for a full ten minutes, waiting for my systems to come back online.

Thankfully (or not) my mouth and voice box still worked. “What did this thing do?” I asked myself, but came up with no reply.

As my systems began to reactivate, I pushed myself up until I was in a sitting position. I placed a hoof on my collar, sighed, and looked back at Night Light. She was still sleeping; her snoring actually seemed to have gotten louder.

“Who am I kidding, I know what this thing does”. It was a shock collar; just like I thought. But unlike the ones used in War Camps, this one was built to keep unicorns from using their magic. “And with that, I’m out of options”.

“....Are you….”

I looked up, thinking I’d see Night Light looking down at me with a wicked grin. But instead, she was still sleeping. “But if she wasn’t talking,” I thought, “who was?”

But I didn’t need to think long about the answer. My data-banks went into hyperdrive as I remembered what the slavers had said earlier.

“Ah, another one!”

“Put him with the other Scrap Pile!”

“You’re not the first one we’ve captured today!”

If all that was true, then it meant I wasn’t alone in this cage.

Slowly, I turned around and looked at the very back of the cage. And right in the corner, covered in shadow, was another pony. It looked like an earth pony mare; with a yellow pelt and green mane. She too had a collar around her neck, and a few scratches over her body.

Her eyes looked dark; like she’d been up for a long time. They were also pointed at me, but she didn’t move when I looked back.

“I guess I didn’t notice her when they threw me in,” I thought. I had been more focused on trying to figure a way out than observing if there were other ponies in the cage.

“You’re one too,” she said silently.

“Excuse me?”

The mare slowly rose from the corner and walked towards me. Once she was in the light, I was able to make more of her out. She had a few bandages wrapped around her back leg, and her cutie mark was, strangely, a blue flame.

“You’re one too,” she repeated. As she got closer, she raised her hoof up and placed it on the side of my face. “You’re like me; they wouldn’t put you here if you weren’t”.

“I’m not sure I understand”. But the moment I said that, I understood what she was talking about. I looked down at my leg with a hole in it, then back at the mare. “You’re a synth?”

“Yes,” the mare said with a nod. She moved her hoof from my face down to my chest, which still had the stitches from when I first woke up. “I didn’t think I’d find another synth out here….at least not this easily”.

I was both surprised and upset at the same time. Telling this mare I wasn’t a synth did come to mind, but I couldn’t get around the thought that she didn’t look like a synth. The ones back in Trotsville had patched skin, glowing eyes, and mechanical voices.

But this mare was, well, like me. She looked, talked, and (somewhat) acted like a normal pony. Did that mean she was like me (a P.A.B.) or was this an advanced synth compared to the others I’ve encountered.

“If you don’t mind me saying; you don’t look or act like any synth I’ve come across”.

The mare looked up at me; a face formed in surprise. “You’ve encountered other synths?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I killed some skinless ones a while back. And I encountered a few with skin patches over their inner-workings back in Trotsville”.

The mare was still for a second, then looked down in deep thought. “Interesting; two different productions of synths in just a short time”.

“Uh, productions?”

“Yes,” she said, looking up at me again. “The skinless ones are known as Generation One synths. They’re basically advanced robots that look like ponies. No thoughts, no feelings, no emotions. Their only purpose is to follow orders”.

“The ones with skin patches on them are Generation Two synths. They’re like the Gen One versions, but they have upgraded technology. They have some independent thought, and can make decisions on their own as long as it relates to the mission they have been given”.

That would explain why the synths back at Trotsville seemed smarter, and had more dialogue than the ones at the observatory. But all this information still left me with one unanswered question.

“So what are you then,” I asked. “You said you were a synth too, but you’re different than the ones I’ve met”.

The mare was silent for a moment, but eventually sighed. “That’s because I am a Generation 3 synth”.

Three Generations? I was beginning to wonder how many different types of synths TSIM had made. They could be up to Generation XII, or even beyond that if they’d been doing this long enough.

“And what exactly makes Generation 3 synths different from Generation 1 and 2 synths”?

“Simple,” said the mare. “We can make our own decisions. They grant us the thinking capacity of a regular pony; probably so we can make decisions on missions more easily”.

Wow, another robot with artificial intelligence! I’d never met another robot with this ability; not even before the war started. And yet TSIM was able to do it; that was something I might look into later.

“But if that’s true,” I said, “don’t you ever want to do your own thing? Do you ever want to disobey what TSIM tells you?”

The mare chuckled slightly. “Some of us do, yes. But TSIM is quick to destroy any synths that they feel are ‘broken’; which means any synth that wants to disobey them or be their own pony”.

The mare walked to the other side of the cage and sat down. “Do you know what it’s like: knowing a synth so well and the next minute they’re being taken away to be dismantled. You have know idea if they’re going to come back, or it their parts will be reused!”

The mare’s eyes clenched, and she started to sob. No tears flowed from her eyes, but I knew that robots couldn’t cry.

….But they could comfort….

I walked over to the mare and sat down next to her. Slowly, I wrapped my arm around her, and she leaned into the embrace. A few moments passed where the mare sob, and I just sat there with her.

I’d done something like this before the war. One day, Mistress Daisy had been informed that her brother Tree Bark (an Equestria soldier stationed in the Frozen North) had been killed in combat. She sat on the couch for hours, crying her eyes out. The young masters had been at school, and Master Smithson was working. That left me the only one at home to witness the outpour of emotion.

At first, I went about my daily tasks as usual. But soon, I began to feel very sorry for Mistress Daisy. So, I went up onto the couch without saying a word. I placed my hoof around her, and she too leaned into the embrace. We sat there for a whole hour, with me being silent and Mistress Daisy weeping. After a while, the Mistress whipped away the tears and thanked me.

It was one of the few times that I almost felt real emotion: not just something my programming did to mimic emotion.

And it seemed to be working here too. Because soon the mare stopped weeping and looked up at me. A slight smile formed on her face as she said “thank you”.

“No problem,” I replied. “By the way, I didn’t tell you my name: it’s Garcon”.

The mare chuckled slightly. “My name is Hope”.

“That’s an interesting name,” I said with a smile.

“Well, TSIM gave me the name Z9-76. But when I left, I gave myself the name Hope: it was the first choice I made as a free synth”.

I could only imagine how that felt; being controlled you’re whole life and then suddenly being able to choose your own path. Your decisions where you own, and nopony could take that away.

But, for some reason, that made me think about my life.

I’ve been given orders ever since I was activated, but I didn’t mind it. In fact, I was still feeling weird with no orders being given to me. I’ve made my own decisions for the past few days, and yet my programing hadn’t changed.

“So,” said Hope, “what was your life like in TSIM?”

Oh, that was right. She still thought I was a synth. “I didn’t come from TSIM. I’m a Personal Automated Butler (P.A.B.) made by the Robronco corporation before the war”.

Hope gave me a confused look. “But your technology is similar to TSIM synth technology”. She looked sadly down at the ground. “But maybe that’s just what you think”.

“Excuse me?”

Hope sighed. “Generation 3 synths have processing capabilities similar to real ponies. Because of this, TSIM can program any synth with the minds and memories of somepony else”. She paused for a moment. “But they can also program completely new memories into one as well”.

“What….what are you saying?” I had no idea what she was talking about, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Garcon, it’s possible the memories you have are from somepony else, or ones that were fabricated by TSIM”.

It took me a second to summarize her words: my memories might be fake?! That would mean my masters….my FAMILY….weren’t real. They were just something ponies made up for…..for some reason!

“It’s not true,” I snarled. “My memories are real! I know it!”

Hope sighed sadly. “They could be….but you must be careful. If they are fake, then know that your path ahead might be forever changed”.

Her words meant nothing; my memories were real and that’s all I needed to know! Nothing was going to change that, and I would never stop believing in my family and my times with them!

As I was thinking, the upstairs door opened and one of the mares from the top room walked down. She had a cigar stuck in her mouth, and had on beaten and worn leather pads.

She eyed me and Hope, then turned to Night Light. She was still snoozing at the desk; unaware of what was happening around her. The mare raised a hoof and gave Night Light a push. The sleeping mare’s eyes flew open as she fell sideways and hit the hardwood floor.

“Alright Night Light, my shift. Get upstairs and meet with the Boss,” said the mare. She took her cigar and shoved it into a nearby ashtray. “He wants you to….well….clean the pipe”.

Night Light got up off the floor, stretched, and gave the mare a snarling look. “Next time you shove me, I’m throwing you to a pack of Diamond Dogs!”

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever,” said the mare. “Did you catch what I said or do I have to repeat myself?”

Night Light snarled, but seemed to calm down slightly. “Yeah, I heard. Remind me though why you couldn’t ‘clean the pipe’ this time?”

The mare grinned while turning her head towards me. Our eyes locked, and the grin only seemed to get bigger. “Oh, I’m saving myself for some fresh meat”.

I felt both hopless and rather nervous: what if she actually went through with that goal. With my magic cut out, I could only imagine what she would have me do. Actually, I didn’t want to image that!

“Fine,” seethed Night Light. She pulled a set of keys from her pocket and handed them to the mare. “Just remember to keep the two in check at all times Amber. We don’t want either of them to get damaged”.

Amber looked at the keys, grinned, and looked back at Night Light. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing”.

“Alright then,” said Night Light. She turned and started walking up the stairs. “If you need anything, don’t ask; because apparently I’ll be busy”.

When Night Light was out of sight, Amber pocketed the keys and turned towards the cage. The grin on her face hadn’t gone away; it actually looked like it had grown. And it only made me feel more unnerved.

“Well, well, well; just the three of us now,” she purred. “No one to bother us, and no one to say not to touch the merchandise”.

She approached the cage and placed her face a few inches from the metal bars. She slowly licked her lips, then giggled slightly. “So tell me synth: what can you do with that tongue of yours?”

I turned my head away; I wasn’t going to answer this mare’s disturbing and disgusting questions. I wasn’t programed for this, and I was going to keep it this way.

“Oh, being stubborn are we?” Amber turned her gaze over to Hope, who quickly put her legs around me in a scared embrace. “Well maybe your little friend there would like to play instead. I wouldn’t mind having a mare do the deed”.

I snarled angrily. “Don’t you ponies have any sense of humanity?”

Amber laughed. “Listen bolts for brains; we do what we have too to survive out here. And if that means taking up ways that others might find sick, or unhealthy, then it just means they don’t deserve to be alive”.

I couldn’t believe something like that was true, and I wasn’t going to. If Trotsville had taught me anything, it’s that there was still a chance for ponies out in the world. Ponies like Cyborg, Wholesale, and Fireball were prime examples of that.

“Now,” continued Amber, “who’s it going to be? I don’t have all night, and I’m getting really horny!”

This mare was insane; I wasn’t going to contaiminate myself just so she could ‘have a little fun’.

….But then I thought about the mare that had her legs around me. The one who had already been through hell at TSIM, and was not a prisoner for these sick ponies.

If I didn’t do something, then she’d have to suffer. I might not like it, but I was programed with the personality of a gentlecolt. And that meant I couldn’t let an innocent mare suffer.

I gave Hope another look, sighed, and turned to Amber. “Fine. Leave Hope out of this, and I’ll do whatever you want”.

Amber’s grin grew wider as she let out a slight giggle. “Ah, how noble of you. Not that I care; I still get some action”.

She pulled the keys out of her pocket and unlocked the cage door. “You, mare, keep to the side and don’t say a word. Any funny business and my buddies will be down here faster than you can say fallout!”

Hope remained where she was for a moment, but soon began to pull away. But as her muzzle passed my ear, I heard her whisper something soft into it.

“It’s off. Be ready for my signal”.

I hadn’t had a chance to think about what that meant before she stood up and walked to the left side of the cage. Amber walked in, locked the door, and trotted over towards me.

“On your back, NOW!”

Well, she clearly wasn’t one to ask nicely. But given the situation, I thought it best not to ask for a ‘please’ at the end of the sentence. Besides, I was still more focused on figuring out what Hope meant.

I slowly slid down until I was lying flat on my back. The ceiling above looked just as dark and dirty as the rest of the room, and the lights did nothing to make it look any better.

But soon, my view was blocked by the sight of a mare’s flank above my face. Her tail swept across it, and was the only thing separating my face from her….ugh….‘mare hood’.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” said Amber seductively. “Now get ready for some….hm!”

Amber’s voice sounded like it had been muffled; like something was blocking her mouth. As the same time, I heard slight moaning noises and what sounded like smacking sounds.

Slowly, I moved my head to the right and looked up at Amber’s face. To my astonishment, I saw Amber and Hope locking lips, with Hope pushing into her with such intensity. Amber looked surprised, but didn’t seem to be fighting it. Soon, her eyes closed and they continued the passionate lip-locking session.

My mind was so confused I almost missed it when Hope’s eyes opened and she looked down at me. She raised a hoof, pointed at her collar, then pointed down at mine. She repeated this action, then closed her eyes again.

“Was this the signal,” I thought. “If it was, what did she mean by pointing at my collar? ….Wait, she said ‘it’s’ off earlier!”

Slowly, as to not alert Amber, I moved my hooves up to my neck. I grabbed the collar and gave it a quick tug….and with a slight click it came right off.

“But how?”

Actually, scratch that, it wasn’t the time for thoughts like that. Now that the collar was off, I should have been able to use my magic again. So I ignited my horn and waited for the shock to happen….but it never did.

“Perfect,” I said grinning.

Hope opened her eyes again and noticed that I was no longer wearing my collar. At that moment, she ended the kiss and pulled away from Amber. The mare was breathing deeply, but had a satisfied grin on her face.

“Well,” she said through breaths. “If I’d known you were up to that, I’d have forced you into this anyway”.

Hope grinned. “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway; I did what I needed to before you even unlocked the door”.

Amber raised an eyebrow, “uh, what do you mean?”

Hope looked down at me and nodded in Amber’s direction. “Oh,” I thought, “I think I get what she’s talking about”.

I encased the collar in my magic and opened it wider. As I did, Amber started looking down at me, but before she could fully turn her head I threw the collar around her neck and closed it with a loud “click”.

“SHIT,” she screamed. Her hooves instantly began tugging at it, but it wouldn’t come off. “You fuckers are dead, you hear me, DEAD!”

“Ugh, I’ve had enough of this,” I said as I encased Amber in my magic. A second later she was thrown off my and smashed into the side of the cage.

“Ouch….oh, just wait until my buddies upstairs get ahold of you. Red-Eye won’t mind losing some slaves that don’t have the mental capacity to stay down!”

I got myself back onto my hooves before turning to Amber. “You know I honestly feel as if I’m losing memory space just by listening to you speak”.

“Same,” said Hope. “I suggest we get out of here before all our memories are erased”.

The two of us totted out of the cage and closed the door, leaving Amber trapped in the prison she’d likely seen many ponies in before us. I found it to be a sweet irony, but knew that there were other problems that required my attention.

“So we’ve taken out one of the slavers, but there are more upstairs,” I said with a nod upward. “And we both don’t have any weapons, so we need to fix that”.

“Good Luck,” snarled Amber. “There aren’t any weapons down here. You might as well give up while you still have a chance to live!”

“Unlikely,” said Hope. “We’ll probably going to be shot the moment we leave the basement.” She trotted to the desk and began pulling draws open. “And I think you were lying about there being no weapons down here. Who puts ponies in cages and doesn’t have weapons to put them down if needed?”

I think Hope was onto something, because Amber’s face suddenly went from cocky to worried. And my thoughts were only more proven when Hope opened the draw and smiled. She reached inside and pulled out a rusty, but sturdy looking, 10mm pistol.

“Bingo,” she said with a grin.

Amber snorted. “You think you can fire you way out of here? Those ponies will fill you with lead before you can even make it halfway to the door!”

Now I was getting really annoyed by the mare’s constant yapping. I ignited my horn and surrounded her mouth in magic, and it zipped shut soon after. “We’ll take our chances”.

“As slim as they are,” replied Hope. “So, how experienced are you with a gun?”

“Well I’ve mostly used a beam pistol since I woke up,” I said as I floated the gun over to me. “But with S.A.T.S., it shouldn’t be too hard to get a few of them taken out”.

“Let’s just hope they have weapons we can use once they’re dead. One magazine of bullets won’t get us too far”.

I checked the sights and grip of the pistol, and overall it wasn’t bad. Beam pistols might have a more mechanical touch (which I enjoyed) but this could at least get the job done. I just hoped S.A.T.S. was ready for a workout….metaphorically speaking.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said as I headed towards the stairs. Hope followed close behind me, and we both filtered out whatever Amber was spewing. Hopefully we’d never have to deal with her again….if she managed to survive being locked down there.

Once we reached the top of the stairs, I slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open a smidge. Looking through the small opening, I tried to see what was going on in the room beyond.

The mares still seemed to be playing cards at the table, which I hoped meant they hadn’t heard what had happened downstairs.

“What do you see,” asked Hope.

“Those mares are still at the table,” I replied. “I don’t see any weapons on them, but they could be concealed”.

“Any other ponies?”

I activated my E.F.S. and scanned the dots that appeared in my vision. The ones on the left matched up with the mares, but there was also one on the right.

“One,” I said cautiously. “But I don’t know if it’s one of the mares or one of the stallions that captured me”.

“Then let’s get them first,” said Hope. “Better to be safe than shot”.

Her logic did make sense, not that it made me feel any better. Because this wasn’t like ghouls or synths, these were actual ponies. Even if they were slavers, they still had some right to live (no matter how small it was).

But logic, like always, seemed to win out.

“Okay,” I sighed. “Let’s go”.

I ignited my horn, grabbed the doorknob, and pushed it forward as the two of us ran into the room. As the mares started to look toward us, I turned my attention to the red dot in the corner.

As Hope had predicted, one of the male slavers was lying on the decrepit couch. His eyes flew open as the door did, but he wasn’t fast enough for my programing.

I entered S.A.T.S. and selected two clear shots to the stallion’s head. My gun moved into position and quickly fired two hot slugs into his cranium and out the back side. Blood spattered the wall as his lifeless body slumped to the ground and his eyes rolled back into his head.

I didn’t waste time admiring my kill and turned my attention to the seven remaining mares.

Unfortunately….they did have guns….or at least three of them did. And they were all pointed at me and Hope.

“Crap,” I said (with a mental kick for bad educate).

As the mares started to fire, I wrapped the couch in magic and pulled it in front of me and Hope. Most of the bullets ripped through the fabric, but it did provide some cover.

“What now,” asked Hope.

“We need to get clear shots to their heads, but I can’t with the three of them shooting at us”.

“You seemed to do okay with that stallion,” she responded.

“Yeah, thanks to S.A.T.S.,” I replied. “Which, might I add, is still recharging”.

“How much longer?”

I pulled up the meter, and it was only halfway full at this point. “A few more seconds, but I’ll only get two shots off before it’s run out”.

While that would reduce the shots being fired to just one mare, it also meant we’d have to wait even more time to take out the others. And if this noise wasn’t calling every slaver in the area to this room, I didn’t know what would.

But I had a feeling Hope understood the situation. She shuffled around me and over to the dead slaver (whose body had fallen to the ground when I moved the couch). She picked up what looked like a .45 caliber pistol from the corpse before turning towards me.

“I’ve got an idea, but I’m not sure it will work”.

Oh great, just what I needed: an unsure plan!

“What is it,” I asked questionably.

Hope did say anything. Instead, I watched as she reached towards her back, grabbed a piece of skin, and pulled. The skin was actually a metal plate, below which was an assortment of cables. She grabbed one, pulled it out, and showed it to me.

“If I plug into your hard drive, I could use S.A.T.S. just like you. That way we can take out four/five mares instead of two”.

I raised an eyebrow questionably: this mare wanted to plug into ME! “Will that even work?”

Hope cringed. “Uh, I’m not sure. That’s why I said I’m not sure it will work”.

Great, now I had to think fast. If this worked, it could be a lot easier for us. But if it failed, we could end up back in the cage or filled with bullets.

….Ah, I was going to kick myself for this later….

“Fine,” I said sighing. “Just hurry up”.

Amber nodded, then walked behind me and plug the cord into my access point.

Notices flashed across my vision, such as INTERFACE CONNECTION ACCEPTED or DATA SHARE IN PROGRESS. This was accompanied by scrolls of numbers, indicating that our two systems were not working with each other.

“Wow,” said Amber. “Your system is really….”

“Advanced,” I asked. “I know it’s a little confusing, but being top of the line in my series is…”

“No, no,” said Amber. “I was going to say old. TSIM uses a much more advanced system for their synths. That’s why I’m linking to you: you’re old tech couldn’t link to mine”.

I didn’t know if that was an insult or….no, it felt like an insult. Being told that your programing was out of date wasn’t just a buck to my designers….it made me feel slightly old.

“And….there, we’ve linked. Let’s go,” said Amber.

The cord still connected us, but it was long enough that we didn’t have to stand too close to one another. I looked over at Amber, gave a nod, and we both peeked over the couch.

I slipped into S.A.T.S., and quickly noticed that the bar at the top was now longer. I might have been because of Hope; her programming was able to boost its effects.

But it soon began to drain as I saw Hope selecting the head of two of the mares. I regained focus and targeted the other four, and quickly shut the spell off. Hope and me were a flurry of action; putting four bullets through the four mare’s heads and sending them to the ground.

The mares that had been hiding behind them looked at their dead defenders, then at us. One stepped forward and shakingly asked “uh, any chance you would consider letting us go?”

“Nope,” said Hope.

Before I could even get a word out, Hope unleashed a barrage of bullets on the group. The mares began to run for cover, but Hope’s aim wasn’t bad; even without S.A.T.S. Eventually, all of the mares were lying on the ground in a large bloody pool.

With the barrage of bullets over, me and Hope stepped out from behind the couch. I looked over the scene, but there wasn’t anything pleasant. It was just like back at Trotsville; dead bodies and pools of blood everywhere.

“Why didn’t we just let them go?”

I wasn’t really upset with Hope’s decision; these ponies deserved to be punished for their crimes. But at the same time, they wanted to surrender. We could have easily locked them up with Amber; letting them rot in the same cell they put others in. Bloodshed could have been avoided.

“Because they didn’t deserve to live,” replied Hope. “Ponies that imprison others and force them to do their bidding are unforgivable….and I doubt they would have changed if we’d let them go”.

“Still….it just seems wrong to me”.

I felt a tug on my back, and the cable connecting the two of us slid back into Hope’s back. “Like I said; your system is outdated. Killing is a part of this world now, you just come from a time when it wasn’t”.

Okay, so what if I did. There wasn’t anything wrong with living in a time of peace….well, at least semi-peace. Killing wasn’t something everypony did, but when it did happen at least there was some humility in it.

….But she was right, that time was over. This wasn’t the world I was used to, and I had to start accepting that.

As I was thinking, my ears picked up the sound of hooves coming down some stairs. I turned my attention to my E.F.S., and saw two red dots approaching from above (thanks to the little arrow above them). I scanned the room and found a door next to the table.

“Get ready,” I said and took aim at the door. Hope did the same, and soon two stallions ran into the room.

“What was with the gun….what the fuck did you do!”

I didn’t give the stallion a response, or at least not one that he liked. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and took aim at the stallion’s head. When I exited, two bullets left the gun and pierced his head all the way through. Blood splattered the wall and the other stallion as his lifeless body slumped to the floor.

I was so focused on him that I didn’t notice the other stallion pulling out a shotgun and taking aim. But it wasn’t at me.

Instead, he looked towards Hope and unloaded three shots at the mare. Buckshot spread from the barrel and pierced the mare’s side. Sparks and bits of metal scattered as more and more pellets either embedded themselves in the machinery or flew out the other side.

Shock overtook me as I watched Hope drop her gun and fall to the floor. Her sides looked like they’d been through a shredder; wires and gears spilled out her side, and sparks lit up the scene.

“I don’t care if Red-Eye get’s angry; you two fuckers aren’t leaving this place alive!” The stallion reloaded and began to aim his gun at me.

I was still in shock about what had happened to Hope….but something must have snapped inside me. Looking at her shocked expression, her flickering eyes, and the slight twitches her body made; it did something to me.

I suddenly went from shocked to furious. I gritted my teeth, took my gun, and slipped into S.A.T.S. once more. This time, I aimed at the fucker’s head, leg, chest….basically everything that I could hit.

When I exited, my gun was a whirl of action. Bullets sliced through every part of the stallion’s body, turning it into another blood bath as the blood spilled from the body and pooled on the floor. The stallion dropped to the ground and twitched slightly before moving no more.

I was still for a moment before turning to hope. I dropped the gun and knelt down beside her, putting my legs under her neck and lifting her head off the floor. Her eyes were half closed, but they shifted towards me when her head was properly elevated.

“What….what happened?” Her voice was soft, but not in a good way. It sounded distant; like it was slowly fading.

“You were shot,” I said as calmly as I could. “Bastard managed to get to you before I could kill him”.

Hope sighed. “How bad is it?”

Did I really want to tell her the truth? How could I say nicely that it was a miracle she was still functioning? Her entire insides were bullet ridden, and most of the wires/cord had been severed. I just had to wonder how much longer she could survive before her system shut down completely.

“It’s bad,” I said, trying not to sound mean.

Hope sighed again. “Then don’t worry about me; save your friend and the other captives. They still have a chance to live”.

“No,” I retorted. “I’m going to leave you here. We’d still be in that cage if it wasn’t for you: we’re in this together!”

“I wasn’t asking, I was telling”. Hope gave me a glare, which seemed to be filled with determination and rage. “Save the others!”

I wanted to….I was going to….but at the cost of leaving her? She’d already suffered at the hooves of TSIM, and now she could shut down inside a slaver hide out?

But she wasn’t wrong; the others did need help. And right now I was the only pony that could help them.

“Fuck me,” I snarled as I laid Hope’s head on the floor and rose to my hooves. “Just hang in there Hope, I’ll be back soon”.

I grabbed the gun, turned on my hooves, and headed towards the door that would take me upstairs.

I found the remaining seven slavers in one of the rooms upstairs. They were all sleeping on couches, mats, and for some a bed. It was a surprise that they hadn’t woken up when the gunfire started….but that didn’t matter to me.

On my way upstairs, I’d found an old ammo box on the first landing. Inside had been a few .50 MM rounds and a grenade. And as soon as it was in my hooves, I knew what I could do with it.

When I found the sleeping slavers, I levitated the grenade out of my bag. I pulled the pin, threw it into the room, and quickly shut the door. A few dots on my E.F.S. moved, but only slightly.

I turned away from the door and began walking down the stairs. Once I was on the first landing, the grenade went off and seven little dots disappeared from my vision. The shockwave sent dust raining down from the ceiling, but I didn’t care.

Now there was only two red dots left on my E.F.S. One of them was Amber, who was still locked in the basement. But the other one….oh, the other one was him: The Boss.

He hadn’t been in any of the room I’d checked, which meant he could only be one other place. I recalled what he’d said when I was taken into the basement not too long ago.

“Place the freak with the others”.

And since there was no other pony in the building, that meant they must be outside. That would also explain why they hadn’t hear the gunfire from before.

I walked into the front room, where Hope was still lying on the floor. Her eyes were still moving, but she didn’t say anything as I passed by. I gave her a quick glance before marching to the door and heading outside.

I walked behind the building and found my target; a good sized tool shed. Graffiti covered the outside, and rotten wood panels were plastered on the roof; likely a quick repair job.

When I checked the door, it was unlocked. So I took out my pistol and swung the door open. I walked inside, and was instantly greeted by similar decor to the other building.

The walls were filled with holes, allowing small amounts of light to enter the room. The floors had blood stains all over them, but none of it looked fresh. My eyes also noticed another desk and chair in the top left corner.

But all of that was nothing compared to the sight right in front of me.

Cell bars spanned the room farther back; some looking new while others looked ready to fall apart. A small group of ponies were huddled in the far corner. They all looked malnourished, and had bruises and lacerations all over their bodies.

And right outside their cell was the Boss. He stood in front of the door to the holding cell; his gun floating in the air next to him. But it wasn’t pointed at me, it was pointed at….oh sweet celestia.

The gun was pointed straight at Cyborg’s head. He looked concerned, but not scared. The collar Hope and me had worn was also clamped around his next, and a few cuts were plastered over his body. His eyes swiveled from me to the gun pointed at his head.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” said the stallion. “You couldn’t just give up could you. Had to be the big hero and save everypony”. He slowly shook his head, “big mistake synth….BIG mistake”.

“Garcon, don’t worry about me,” said Cyborg; his voice sounded strained. “Get the others out of here or else they’ll….”

Cyborg stopped when Boss pushed the gun harder against his temple. Now he was starting to look scared. In fact, now I was starting to feel scared. The anger and determination I’d walked in with was now replaced by worry and uncertainty.

“Now here’s how things are going to play out,” said the stallion. “You’re going into the cage with the others. Try anything and your friend gets his head blown off”.

Oh sweet Celestia. What was I supposed to do? If I didn’t follow his orders, Cyborg could die. But if I did follow his orders, we’d not only have no chance of getting out of here, but he’d likely shoot Cyborg anyway.

And I doubted S.A.T.S. could get a shot at him before he noticed something was up and shot Cyborg. Personally, I didn’t think force and guns was going to get me out of this.

But thankfully, there was another option. And by golly I hated it….I hated it so much.

“Go ahead,” I said, “kill him”.

The stallion looked confused, which was nothing to Cyborg’s unholy face of shock. The stallion shook his head then looked back at me.

“What?”

“Go ahead and kill him; show me you’re not bluffing”.

“I’m not bluffing,” he snarled.

“Uh, Garcon, I really think he isn’t,” said Cyborg.

“I know he isn’t,” I said sternly. “But if he shoots you, that gives me a reason to shoot him. He’ll be dead not long after you”. I paused. “But just remember this: you lose no matter what situation you decide on”.

“What do you mean,” he asked, pushing the gun harder against Cyborg.

“If you shoot him, I shoot you. If you don’t shoot him, I’ll still shoot you in case you decide too”. Now, I just hoped my reasoning would work. “But if you let him go, I’ll step aside and let you walk out of here. I won’t follow you, and you’ll never see us again”.

The stallion chuckled. “How can I be sure you’ll keep your promise? And what’s stopping me from shooting you?” His gun shifted from Cyborg’s head to mine.

Now it was my time to grin. “If you shoot me, I’ll still be operating. Hope was still working even after two shotgun blasts, so what makes you think a single bullet will affect me?”

I think the stallion was beginning to see things my way. His face went from sly confidence to uncertain worry. Hopefully that meant he would see reason….or at least not catch MY bluff.

After a moment of silence, the stallion snarled and moved his gun away from Cyborg’s head. “Fine, I’ll leave”.

“I’m glad you saw reason,” I said with a grin. I moved left so that the entrance was clear, and the stallion began to move towards it.

As he was about to leave the shack, I acted. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and targeted every part of his body that wasn’t covered by his jacket/armor. When I exited, my gun quickly unloaded it’s entire magazine into the slaver.

Blood shot from every hole the bullets created, and the stallion’s head basically exploded from the multiple impacts. The lifeless body fell to the floor, spreading more blood across the shack floor.

There was silence for a moment….actually more than a moment. I sighed as I tossed my empty gun aside and walked to the corpse of the dead slaver. Blood pooled around my hooves, and some was moving out the door and mixing with the dirt.

“I had to,” I thought as I looked over the body. “He was a slaver; he would have just gone back to hurting more ponies if I’d let him go”.
I could think that all I wanted, it wasn’t going to make me feel any better. So he was a slaver; he was still a pony. One that had surrendered yet was still killed just because I made a decision on what might happen should he live.

My ears caught a set of hooves approaching, but I didn’t look away from the corpse. Cyborg stopped next to me, looking from me to the corpse then back to me.

“Are you alright?”

No….and yes. I wasn’t really sure what I was feeling at this point. I was happy that I’d saved him from hurting others, but my conscious kept telling me I’d blatantly lied to this stallion without a second thought.

“I will be,” I said, turning away from the body. “Just give me some time”.

“If you say so,” said Cyborg. “What are we going to do now?”

I sighed, then headed towards the cage at the back of the shack.

“We’re going to start making things right”.

Footnote: LEVEL UP

New Program: Sly Viper - Enemies Beware. You now do more damage to ponies that are unarmed, injured, or unaware of your presence.

Quest Perk: Lighting Processor: When in stressful confrontations, gain +5 Intelligence, and +4 Charisma when talking/negotiating. -4 Perception when using non-melee weapons.