Chapter 5

Kiwi Tart

"Maybe."

Truth be told, I was in complete hysteria. When I had seen the manticore charging at my friend, I had to do something. Grabbing the thick log that hadn't fallen out of the tree on to my head because I was running around madly trying not to die, I had rushed out to save my friend and my two captors. I admit, it wasn't very smart but it did the trick. This was piled on top of the fact that I would probably never see my family again, nor even a schoolroom if the wasteland was really as bad as they said.

And did Sapphire care? If he did, he didn't show it. He seemed to love the outside of the stable more than the inside, and I probably only needed one guess as to why.

I've never really wanted to kill a pony, but Shadow was getting pretty close to it. Sapphire was willing to leave everything behind, because he thought he had a chance with a mare. Her looks had got me, yes, but if the inside outweighs the outside in evil, I just can't see that pony in the same light. Shadow was playing him like a fool, brushing up against him, winking at him. Acting like she cared.

I knew her game, and I could why. Sapphire probably wouldn't stay if he knew she wasn't interested. I could only assume Burst was doing the same to me, but I wanted nothing to do with this wasteland.

That is, if we passed 'inspection'.

Shadow had told us if we didn't lie, cheat, or some other underhand trick to convince him we were important, we were dead.

"Hey, you two, we're here." Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked up at the building in front of me. I had overheard Burst or Shadow say it was a chapel, it reminded more of a fort, or a castle.

Walking up the front was nerve wracking. The urge to run only swelled, and I would've bolted had it not been the lookouts with Snipers. The whole Cathedral was secure, no area didn't have vision. No area wasn't being patrolled. It was probably safer here than it was in my Stable.

So why was I feeling rising dread?

"Hey, let me in! Its me, Red-eye's girl! I got the delivery he wanted!"

Creaking and scratching drowned out what little beauty was in the huge door, as it slowly slid open. What was inside surprised me, rows of soldiers were lined up on the inside. As Shadow and Burst walked by, they would salute.

How brutal were these two? To have control of an army, it was terrifying to me. knowing myself, I would probably kill every pony by accidentally leading them off a cliff.

Another set of doors, these with red glass and much less noisy, opened next. Before the door closed, I heard the whispering of many ponies. The door was closed before I could hear even a snippet of conversation. The whole scenario was sending shivers down my spine. I knew next to nothing about this Red-eye, and I didn't want to be here. Shadow was leading us down many hallways, turning at seemingly random hallways. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Shadow spoke to us.

"Straighten up you two, look presentable as possible, and above all, don't speak out of turn." Both of us nodded. Burst meanwhile, was looking on with a bored expression.

"Why are you so scared of him Shadow? We all know he's just a big old softy."

Shadow glared daggers at her. "Don't forget, if we fail this mission he's going to punish us like no tomorrow, our lives may even be on the line."

"Pffft. Let's just get it over with."

I had pretty well expected what I saw when we opened the door. I couldn't tell how deep underground we were at this point, but the ceiling gave me a pretty decent indication. Sitting on the throne in the middle of the room was not how I expected Red-eye to look. He looked like a normal pony, an Earth pony with a cyber eye. I felt like I was constantly being watched in this room, and it probably had nothing to do with a camera.

"Red-eye." Shadow bowed to him.

"Shadow Flash, Bubble Burst at ease. We are equals, I have already told you this." Red-eye removed himself from the throne, walking towards us. His flank was scarred and burned, without a cutie mark. The way he moved, the way he talked, I could he was a leader, and a very good one

"What have you brought me?"

Shadow gulped. "They came without fighting, and have actually already fought on our side."

"Fought by your side? Were you attacked?"

"It was a large manticore, but we fended it off."

"How did you kill it?"

"Sapphire Talisman slit its throat with a small jewel." He looked a bit surprised when Shadow said that.

"How did he get the gem?"

"He grew it." Red-eye looked a bit like he was about to flip a lid at that.

"He grows his own minerals?"

"Yep."

"Did Kiwi Tart do anything?" I notice Burst bit her lip when he asked that. Why was she...?

"No sir, he was completely useless."

What?

"They're both blank flanks, but Sapphire has a pretty good idea on what his is."

What are they doing?

"So he was a burden, useless, talentless and helpless?"

"Correct." I tossed a pleading glance over at Sapphire, but it was lost on him. His expression burned with anger, and Burst wouldn't meet my eyes. Shadow just stood there, looking defiant as ever.

How can they do this? Do they want me to die?

Red-eye hopped on top of me, pressing his hooves on my neck. "Do you know what we do with useless ponies?"

Pressing his hoof down harder, I was beggining to get a pretty good guess.

Then the pressure vanished, and Red-eye was thrown off me. I noticed a flicker of blue light, as he was tossed a short distance away. Just out of hoof's reach. Turning around quickly so I wouldn't lose my chance, I bucked as hard as I could with my hind legs. A resounding crack filled the room. I turned to look back at Red-eye, but he was already up, but the glass screen that used to be where his eye was was currently on the floor in pieces. I was pretty scared at the moment, he didn't show any signs of my kit doing anything to his face. Raising his hoof like he was about to whack me...

"Hmm... You stood up for yourself. Brave. Stupid, but brave. Do you think we should keep him?" Shadow and Burst alike looked surprised he was asking for their input. "I mean, if he bucked you in the face he might amount to something..." Burst was just shaking her head 'yes' to much to respond.

"Well that settles it then. Welcome to Red-eye's militia you two!" Finally bringing his hoof down.

I was already in the fetal position, curled into a tight ball and gave a small yelp as he said it.

Peeking out between my hooves, I was met with extremely diverse reactions to what had happened. Sapphire looked on the verge of hugging me, Burst looked incredibly relieved and Shadow did too. She looked a bit more...

Disappointed? She had made it clear she did not like me, being a different race 'an all. I had no idea she wanted me dead.

"...Are you going to shake my hoof?"

Reaching up with my hoof, I weakly attempted to shake his hoof. After he was done with me, he walked over to Sapphire.

Sapphire looked at the hoof with disdain.

"I don't like this..." Sapphire reached out and shook it.

"Deal! You're now eternally bound to me and will serve for me until I die or you do!"

"What?!"

"I told you so Kiwi."

"Where does it say that?" I questioned angrily.

He pulled out a parchment of paper. "On the contract."

"You didn't say there was a contract!"

"You didn't ask."

He grinned. "Follow me, I already have job planned out for you four." He pushed a button, pulling out a part in the wall. On said wall was now a door.

"You two are going to need suiting up first."

"So... It'll protect my whole body?"

"Yes."

There was the thing it needed before it got the 'Tart' guarantee. Finding the nearest wall, I slammed my head into it.

Yep, no damage.

The armor Red-eye had given me was surprisingly light. I had asked why, but he hadn't told me. Sapphire, meanwhile, had been given armor that was heavier.

"You ready?" Scared, I whipped my head around towards the sound, expecting it to be Red-eye. Sapphire stood over me, looking down at me. I hadn't put much thought into it before, but he was pretty intimidating. He stood quite a bit taller than most ponies, and just looked downright dangerous in his Stable barding. Me? I would be lucky to scare off, well, anything. I was just to bright, to friendly. the sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I stood no chance alone in this wasteland.

Oh, of course! That explained his anger when I had said I wanted to leave the Stable! He wasn't worried about his life, he was worried about me losing mine.

"You two done in there?" It was that rowdy pegasus, Shadow. I wasn't sure how I felt about her. She was stunning, sure, but her personality was incredible!y dark. Oh, and she hated me.

That means something, right?

"Yep." No we weren't, Sapphire had yet to put his set on.

"You gonna put your armor on?"

"No. I want to wear my barding, it'll help me remember where I came from." He gave me a very direct look after saying it. "Don't you either, Kiwi." He turned and walked out, leaving me to my thoughts.

-x-x-x-

"So this is where we get our weapons?"

"For Sapphire, yes. I already have one picked out for you."

Sapphire's eyes lit up for a bit, and he trotted off to find his own weapons.

"So... What is it?"

"I've heard that you're not the best at keeping track of things, is this correct?" I blushed a bit at this. he was right, whenever I lost something I just hoped I found it while I was cleaning.

"Yeah." He nodded as if finalizing a question.

"Come here." I followed him around a corner labeled 'line D - Zebra Weapons'.

There was multiple shelves filled with guns labeled 'Igniting', 'Freezing', 'Soul sucking' and other things of the such. Near the end of the hallway, there was one labeled 'Unknown'. "Here." He pointed to a long Sniper, high on the shelf. "Pick it up."

"You first."

"I'll rip off your leg, touch it with the limp appendage, and sew back on to your body if you don't touch that gun." Sheesh.

The last thing I remembered before blacking out was the feeling of my heart being torn out and sewn back in.

-x-x-x-

"Oh shoot, that hurt." I cracked my eyes open, only to be blinded by an intense light. I took notice of my surroundings. White walls, white sheets, white everything. At least it wasn't gray.

Sapphire would've approved.

"Ah, you appear to be awake!" It was, you guessed it, a white unicorn mare. On her head was a hat with the universal symbol of health, a red cross. "Don't even try and tell me what happened. I'm a nurse for the militia, I've probably heard weirder things than you can even think of telling me."

"I touched a gun and blacked out. Felt like my heart was torn out and shoved back in."

"Wait. Is that it? No physical wounds?"

"Yes."

"Then please excuse yourself from my hospital, I have wounds to mend. Nothing personal, but I can't waste to much time on a pony that isn't on the brink of death ."

I could respect that. I wasn't on the floor bleeding out, like a wounded soldier. Quickly excusing myself I left her room.

"Hey, you! You forgot your gun!" She said, and tossed it to me. Afraid to touch it, I just let it hit the ground in front of me. After taking a minute to look at it, I could realize why I had to wear pretty light armor. The gun looked heavy, and I could identify the grip specially made for my breed. As for why I was picked for the sniper role, I had no clue. I don't know much about guns, but I could tell this thing had more than enough power to take off a head or two.

Okay, well screw my earlier decision about not touching it. Besides, I looked pretty weird standing in the hallway staring at a sniper rifle. Touching and it, I braced myself for a fall.

The sensation never came back, and I could pick up the beauty. It was a sleek thing, and pretty shiny to boot. Knowing enough about guns to know where ammo was held, I looked for an ammunition box.

"Ugh, where is the damn thing?" Was it defective? After a bit of searching, I found a small button. Pressing it revealed a small compartment. Inside it was a small jar with a glowing emerald inside. Huh. I knew enough about guns that this wasn't normal.

Oh well. I snapped the lock back in place. Now how was I supposed to carry it around...?

-x-x-x-

Can I just say that guns are really heavy? I had finally pulled around to the front desk where the recioptnist was. Glancing at me, she grabbed a piece of paper and walked over. "Sir, are you Kiwi Tart?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"You had some visitors. Also a message from Red-eye." She sounded dull, bored. Almost like she did this everyday.

"What does it say?"

"Just to meet him at the front gate when you've awoken."

"Thanks!"

"Not a problem." Resuming my slow pace, I had suspicion I wasn't going to make it on time. At least, not lugging this thing around. "Can you hold my gun for me while I'm gone?"

She gave me a surprised look. "You plan on going out to the wasteland...without a gun?" She looked like she was trying really hard not to start laughing. She eventually decided on a plan of action though. "Just lay it over there in the corner. You can come by and get it later."

"Thanks again!" I was already out the door before I heard her reply. I stepped outside and realized two things. I hadn't realized just how big Red-eye's turf was. Second, I was incredibly lucky considering how the gate was right in front of the hospital. I could already see the four figures of Red-eye, Shadow, Burst and Sapphire. Sapphire was talking to Shadow and she was laughing and giggling at everything he said. Burst just sort of stood alone, watching them. Running up, Red-eye noticed me first. I took note of the weapons Sapphire had grabbed. A simple shotgun and a standard pistol. Must've been what he was trained with.

"Where's Disciple?" Disciple? I gave him a confused look. "The sniper" he clarified.

"Left it at the hospital. It was getting to heavy to lug around." I slowed next to a stop next to Burst, closing off our circle. I could feel a small tugging at my chest.

"Ah, trust me. You won't be getting away from it anytime soon." He grinned as I heard a POP and a flash of green light, same shade as my eyes.

On the ground in front of me, was the gun Disciple. I didn't scream, yell, cry, hide under covers I just stared at it. Sighing, I asked the inevitable question. "What just happened?"

"That gun is now Soulbound to you. Whenever you touched it, it sliced a small part of your soul and contained inside of a small soul jar. Whenever you reach a certain distance and you're not running or sleeping, it'll teleport to you."

"Yay." I had nothing to say. It was pretty cool, but pretty unsettling. "Anyway, to carry it?" I heard Sapphire laugh a bit from my right.

"It's easy. Just take it apart here..." He detached the barrel from the rest of the gun. He broke my gun! He broke my...!

"Sapphire, why'd you break it.?"

"Break? What do yo-- Oh! Don't worry, it's supposed to come apart." Oh. I watched closely to the parts he disase!mbled, taking notes.

"Viola!" In front of me was a pile of parts, barely a Sniper. "Then there should be little hooks on you...- Aha! Found them!" He started placing the parts on small hooks on the side of my armor. I could see Red-eye and Shadow nodding in approval. Burst just looked ashamed. "Your stable never taught you how to take apart a gun and back together?"

"No, not really. I just wasn't into that stuff. Didn't think I'd ever need it."

"Ahem. If you recall, earlier I said something about me having a task for you. If you've been paying attention, you should've noticed these hanging around." Red-eye gestured to posters hanging off of the wall. On it was a male pegasus with yellow fur and a dark blue mane. "Yeah, what about him?"

"He's been stealing scrap metal right out from under my snout. I wouldn't have a problem with this, if he'd just ask. But recently, he took something I need. It's a small engine part I need to complete an invention of mine."

"Okay, and what are we supposed if we find him?" Red-eye, Burst and Shadow alike each gave me a stare like I had sprouted a horn.

"Kill him of course." Woah woah woah. Woah. Sloooooow down.

"Kill him? Couldn't you work out an arrangement with this guy? I mean, if he's stealing stuff from you wouldn't you want to know why?"

Red-eye rubbed his chin like he was thinking. His face brightened up like he had thought of something. "You could bring him back and I could ask him. Maybe hire him" I guess that was okay. I mean, all of Red-eye's soldiers were treated fairly well.

"Alright, we'll bring him back. We don't have to kill him right?"

"Only if he refuses, then shoot him on the spot." Sapphire had been watching the proceedings with a calm intrest. I knew my friend well enough this wasn't the case, and a tempest was raging inside. Finally he spoke up.

"Where are going to find him?"

"Ah, right to the point are we? I swear, the more I hear from you, the more I like you. Anyway, to answer your question, we have deduced he has to be close by." He gestured to the barren land surrounding the cathedrald. "As you can see, theres nearly nowhere to hide around here and with him dragging all that scrap metal around, he can't live far. Theres one place west of here he can hide though. It's a ravine with many entrances and exits, but only one safe way in and one safe way out exists." He pulled out a map and pointed it out. 'Dead Ghoul's canyon'. "Dead Ghoul canyon? What are Ghouls?"

Shadow butted in at this. "They're ponies who were alive when the bombs fell and didn't quite die. Ghouls can also be 'made' if they ingest to much radiation. Honestly, how stupid are you?"

"What she said. This place is crawling with feral Ghouls, and it would be wise to have somepony watching your back at all times. They're sort of known around that area on jumping down from ledges on to their victims."

"Sweet, nice to know I could be killed from behind or have one jump on me."

"See? You just might live in the wasteland." I rolled my eyes at Shadow's offensive retort.

"Well, that's all. You have your mission and your destination, hop to it!" Red-eye almost seemed like he was in a hurry to rid of us. Waiting for the gate to slowly open, we trotted outside to the wasteland before us. I was ready for my first mission, and I would not disappoint.

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Level Up!

New Perk - Pony Pleaser; Given a task it becomes your priority. You will complete it at all costs. Some ponies call other ponies who have this perk a certain word: Tryhard

+10 Speech