//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Part(1/2) (Edit) // Story: Fallout Equestria: The Flats // by GaleWind //------------------------------// After his entrance, Sprocket turned on a dime and rushed back out. I looked back at Wrench and he gestured me to go. Giving an apology, I rushed out the store. Sprocket waited for me outside and when I caught up, led the way down the street. Suture’s clinic was one of the few actually buildings built in town so it wasn’t hard to find. The clinic was two stories tall with a red cross painted on the front of it. It wasn’t long before we stood outside it. “Sprocket, you mind telling me what is going on?” I finally asked just before we went in. “Like I said, after I told dad you were back, I brought the mare here. Suture wanted to know what was happening so, I told him what I knew and we put her in a room. Next thing I know, she wakes up, starts throwing stuff, not calming down and Suture yells at me to go get you!” “What took you?” “I thought you were still at the motor pool so I checked there first. Dune said you left so I knew you’d be at dad’s place.” He said, pushing open the door. I walked into the small lobby and immediately heard the sounds of a commotion in the back. We hurried to the right of the front desk and down a hallway. A couple rooms down, a small crowd had gathered in front of one. We pushed our way through to look inside. The room looked like a war zone, only it was still going on. The floor was littered with trays, broken glass from a busted light, and other items. But the main focus was the cause of this, which was currently backed against a wall. The mare I rescued currently had a scalpel clenched in her mouth and a hoof around a dented tray as she glared at the two stallions blocking off her exit. I’ve known those two as being some of the strongest here but judging from the bruises and cuts on them, some may doubt that. “Aero!” A voice shouted. We looked to see the crowd disperse a bit to let somepony through. The voice belonged to our resident doctor, and he sounded irritated. The white coated stallion was well into his twilight years but age and many gray hairs in his black mane haven't dulled his skill or temper as his purple eyes glared at me. “What the hell kind of patient did you bring me?” He questioned as he marched up to me before stopping. “She’s wrecking the place!” ‘THUD!’ We turned back to see one of the burly stallions on the floor, with the now very much dented metal tray wrapped around his head. The other one went stock still but inched back a bit as she grabbed another tray. “And she’s making more trouble by the minute, go in there and FIX THIS!” He shouted. I looked back at the carnage in the room before swallowing and turned to go in. Sprocket uttered a “Be careful” as I walked through the doorway and towards the mare. The burly stallion, whom I finally recognized as Roadblock by his gray coat, gave a nod to me as he moved his unconscious friend out of the way. I returned it and then looked forward as angry red eyes glared at me. 'Roho, nipe nguvu' Mental prayer sent, I cleared my throat so I kept her attention. “Um, hello there, nice to see you up and moving.” She glared at my small talk but I had to think of something to calm her down. Testing, I took one step forward, making sure to keep eye contact. When she didn’t react, I continued talking. “You don’t know me but, I was the one that wrapped that bandage around you.” I took another step. “You were being chased by raiders and took a hit to the head.” Making sure she kept her eyes on me. I moved one hoof at a time as I tried to fill her in on what happened to her. Soon, I was only a couple inches from her. “Then I gave you to my friend, he brought you here to the clinic and now, here we are.” I finished telling her. I slowly extended a hoof towards her. “So, if you could put down the tools, Doctor Suture can take a lo-” ‘CLANG!’ “OW!” I stumbled back as I held the left side of my face. I didn’t even see her move but now she looked more irritated. I brought my hoof back down and inched forward. “You need any help!” Sprocket called from the doorway. “I’m fine, I got this.” ‘I hope.’ I muttered the last part. Keeping my eyes on her while stealing glances at the tray still in here hoof, I made another step forward. This time I saw the swing coming, I ducked my head and the tray went over my head. Seeing her initial attack fail, she brought it back for a return swing. I saw it coming and narrowly avoided another smack to the head. It then boiled down to her taking different swings at me as I kept avoiding and inching backward. With each missed swing she kept getting more irritated. Glancing right, I saw that Roadblock was just staring at the little dance we were doing. “Don’t just stand there, Help me!” I shouted at him, breaking eye contact. That was all she needed. I looked back just to have the tray catch me on the chin and my head flew back a bit. I was stunned but I could still hear. Regaining my senses, I saw her come closer and brought the tray up. ‘Not this time.’ I brought my left hoof up and stopped her mid-swing, then used my right to knock the tray out of her grasp. It clattered to the ground as I held her in place, despite her struggle. I used a back leg to sweep her off her legs and moved forward as she fell backward. We both hit the ground, the scalpel coming out of her mouth, me on top and pinning her down. She kept struggling and thrashing to get free but I managed to keep my grip. “Will you please, stop struggling?! We aren’t going to hurt you!” I exclaimed, trying to calm her down. She turned her head and glared at me and was about to say something when she stopped. At first, I thought she finally calmed down but, that wasn’t it. When she looked up at me, her eyes dilated to the size of pinpricks and I saw the faintest hint of something in them. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs causing all of us to wince at the volume. She then redoubled her efforts of trying to free herself. “Hey, calm down! What’s wron-” I didn’t get a chance to finish. At some point, she managed to bring her hind legs up to her chest and planted both hooves on mine. Showing surprising strength, she bucked me off her, sending me to land on my back. Wincing at the impact, I didn’t have time to recuperate as she practically pounced on and straddled me. She brought her hooves up and I saw the scalpel as she angled and brought it down. I got my hooves up in time and blocked it as the blade was inches from my throat but she kept pushing down to try and finish it with an enraged look until she was pulled off. Unknown to her, Roadblock had managed to get behind and pull her off me. She continued to struggle and it looked like he was losing his grip. I then saw Suture appear on my right, a syringe in his mouth. Despite the moving limbs, he managed to get a hold one of her legs, stick the needle in her and inject whatever was inside. The mare stiffened and her eyes widen for a minute before they slowly closed and she went limp. Suture gave a once over before pulling the syringe out. “Place her on the bed over there and go get some straps. I don’t want a repeat of this when the anesthetic wears off.” He stated. Roadblock nodded and went about the order he was given. Sprocket appeared and helped me to my hooves. “You okay, Aero?” He asked me. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just let me ca-catch my breath.” I said, taking shallow breaths. “What happened, one minute you had her pinned and the next, she screams and has a knife to your throat?!” Sprocket exclaimed. “I don’t know but before she did that, I think I saw something.” “What do you mean?” “Before she screamed, I looked her in the eyes and for a second, I think she was scared of me.” I explained to him. “It sounds like a case of trauma.” We turned to see Suture looking at us. “Something must have happened before you found her.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “I’ve had a couple patients like this, usually it happens as a result of a physical or psychological injury. Unfortunately, I can only guess at the cause.” We turned to look to look at the once destructive mare, now sleeping almost peacefully on the bed due to the anesthetic. “Do you think you can tell why she suddenly snapped and tried to kill Aero?” Sprocket asked the doctor. Suture thought for a minute. “There're numerous reasons for that but the only one I can think of goes back to her trauma. Something must have triggered a response.” I remembered the look in her eyes when she stared at me. Unconsciously, I felt a hoof go up to my face to readjust my goggles only to feel my right side uncovered, they had shifted up a bit. Thinking they moved from her last tray shot, I pushed them back into place. “Look, why don’t you boys leave, I need to clean up and look at Crank Case before I get a chance to look at your ‘friend’.” Suture explained to us. “You want us to help?” Sprocket offered. “No thanks, Roadblock, and the nurses will help me. But Aero, I want you to come back here tomorrow to discuss this.” He explained. “Okay.” I said to the doctor. “Good, now head out. I’ve got a room to clean and pony with a concussion to deal with, but first?” He turned his head towards the door, where the small crowd was still gathered. “Alright, show’s over! Now get back to your work or rooms, if not, you can watch over ‘Ms. Hellion’ here when she wakes up!” He stated, emphasizing the point was Roadblock returning with the straps. That got a response as the crowd quickly dispersed. Suture gave a small snort and, not wanting to irritate him more, Sprocket began to leave. Casting one more glance at the sleeping mare, I followed him out. The sun was nearly down when we left the building. “Well, this has been one interesting day, huh?” Sprocket asked as he looked at the sky. When he didn’t get an answer, he looked to see me staring up at the sky. “Aero?” “Huh?” Hearing his voice, I turned to look at him. “You sure you’re feeling okay?” He asked. “Why wouldn’t I be?” “Well, you did take a few shots to the head and had a knife to your throat. Add that to the day you’ve had so far, you can’t expect me not to be worried.” “Oh. Yeah, I guess so. Don’t worry about it. I’m fine, just got a lot to think about.” “You sure?” He asked. “Positive, I’m fine.” I reassured him. Sprocket looked at me, pondering about my answer. After a minute, he sighed. “Alright, I’ll trust you on this.” He glanced back at the sky. “It’s getting late, why don’t you come over. Dad’s probably got dinner almost ready.” “Nah, I wouldn’t want to intrude.” I tried to decline. Sprocket gave a small smirk. “When has that ever stopped dad from inviting you? Besides, you’ve come over ever since we were foals and you know his cooking is a lot better than our resident chef.” I chuckled a little. “Be careful about what you say, you know how sharp her hearing is. Alright, I’ll come but I got to head to the motor pool first.” “What for?” He asked. “Got to tell Dune Rat the latest on our guest. Go on ahead, I’ll meet you at the shop.” I said. “Alright.” was all he said before walking away towards the armory. I sighed and made my way to the motor pool. There was more room to walk because residents were either at home or in the eating area for dinner. When I got there, it was almost quite. There were only a few stragglers cleaning up for the day. It didn’t take long to find him in his office going over papers. I moved toward him as he looked up at the arrival. “Oh, hey Aero. Did you go see Socket Wrench?” “Yeah, actually I came here to give you an update on our guest. As of now, she’s resting peacefully while Suture watches her.” I explained. “I heard that there was a commotion at the clinic, what happened?” He asked. “Well, she was a little …cranky, when she came too.” I said lightly. He raised an eyebrow. “How cranky?” “Let’s just say this: In the future, keep all the trays out of her reach or she will use them.” Dune sighed as he placed his head in his hooves. “Was anypony hurt?” “Aside from a few bruises, a massive headache, and some wounded pride, no serious injuries.” I said. He looked confused and was about to ask before I caught him. “Just, don’t be surprised when Roadblock and Crank Case show up with bandages tomorrow.” His eyes widen a bit before sighing again and rubbing his head. He then looked back at me. “Were you hurt?” “No, I’m fine.” I said, a little faster than I should. He narrowed his eyes at the quick response. “She may have gotten in a shot or two.” I didn’t add the part where she had a scalpel to my throat. That would have been all he needed to throw her out. Dune rat was understandable most of the time, but if there’s danger inside the town, he dealt with it. “And you’re sure you’re okay?” “Yes, Dune, I’m fine.” I stated. He looked at me for a long time before sighing again and muttering an “alright” from him. “Ok, well if that’s everything, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I said as I turned around and began to leave. “Wait a minute.” I stopped mid-step and brought my hoof down. I looked back to see him get up from his chair. “There is something you should know.” “Anything wrong?” “Not exactly, it has something to do with that motor cart you brought back. I was going to tell you tomorrow but seeing as you’re here now...” “Was something wrong with it?” I asked, confused. “Quite the opposite, at first, it looked like an armored wagon, but when we stripped it down, well it was modified very extensively.” He said. “What do you mean?” “The welds used on the panels were done well, something most raiders shouldn’t be able to do. The wheels were reinforced and treaded for better handling with sharpened rims to destroy wheels. Add a metal roof and these things are dangerous, but the real kicker was the engine itself.” He told me. I listened as he listed off all the aspects of the wagon. No way could raiders build something like this, the tools needed alone would be hard to find out here. The details already had my hair stand up and there was one more bit of news. “What about it?” I asked halfheartedly. He narrowed his eyes a bit. “As hard as it is to believe, the piece was from-” “-a car!” Sprocket said shocked. After talking with Dune Rat, I decided to stop at home before going to the shop. I stripped off my equipment, placed it back in the chest and put on the jacket from earlier. I went through the right door in the back of the shop, which led to their home and greeted them. This side had a small kitchen to prepare food, a pantry closet to the side, a makeshift table with some chairs, an old tattered couch against the wall, and some stairs that led up to their rooms. Sprocket was already situated at the table, waiting for dinner, and motioned me over while Socket was finishing. I had told them about what Dune Rat told me. “That’s what he said. At first, He thought they made their own version made of scrap metal but no, it was the real deal.” I told them. “But those parts are hard to come by. We’re lucky to find pieces of them out scavenging. How did raiders manage to get their hooves on intact parts?” He wondered. I could understand his surprise, we only know about them from old books and documents. Sometime before the war actually started, a few manufacturing companies started building machines to improve on the concept of motorized wagons. The result was a new forms of the carriage or ‘car’. A couple hundred different models were made and out in equestria for those that could afford them, most went to the elite for luxury while a few were soon modified for military use. Once the bombs fell, they all were either destroyed with the land or stripped down for metal. So finding pieces or actual parts are extremely rare. Let alone a never used one. “I don’t know and that’s got Dune Rat both intrigued and worried about it.” I said. “Don’t put too much thought into this, Aero.” I looked up to see Socket Wrench had turned to face me. “These are problems to think about at another time. “Dad, aren’t you at least curious about this?” Sprocket asked. “Of course, but it can wait. Now, who’s ready to eat?” Socket used his magic to set three bowls on the table, one for each of us, and using a ladle, poured a fair amount of the content from the pot he was cooking from into each one. I leaned over and smelled the aroma and recognized it. “Radhog stew with carrots. I thought you used the last of it last month?” I asked him. “I kept a few pieces for special occasions, although the carrots are canned.” He said as he sat down. “Special occasions?” I thought about what was special today until one thing came to mind. “Socket, you didn’t have to do this.” “You did a good thing toady despite what others may think. I’m sure the mare, once she calms down, will be thankful that you saved her.” “Oh, I’m sure when she isn’t trying to kill him.” Sprocket muttered, mouth currently full. That earned a smack on the head from his father. I gave a small smile. “Thank you for this.” “You’re practically family Aero, it’s no problem.” Socket Wrench smiled. “Now eat up, you’ve had a rough day and you need your strength.” Nodding, I reached up and pulled my goggles down, picked a spoon and began eating. It had been awhile since I ate Socket’s radhog stew so I tried to savor it. We all sat in silence as we ate, the faint sounds of the clock the only noise. “So, what are your plans for tomorrow?” Socket said, breaking the silence. “Well, I got to stop by Suture to get an update on our guest. Before and after that, I don’t know.” I explained. “Don’t you officially start scavenging again?” Sprocket said. “Nope, before I left the motor pool, Dune Rat told me not to come in tomorrow. He figured that after today, I should finish my day off.” I said. “Lucky.” Sprocket muttered. He picked the bowl up and brought it to his mouth to slurp the last bit of stew. Once he finished he glanced at the clock. “Oh, Audio Waves should be on right now.” He said. He got up and walked over to a radio on a nearby table. He turned it on and fiddled with dial until something came through. “Good evening, my fellow wastelanders! It’s your voice to the unknown, Audio Waves, coming at you for the second time today. The sun has set, the moon has risen, and it’s time for an update on what’s happening on our side of Equestria.” The voice of Audio Waves filled the room as he told of what’s going on, mostly local information from Salt Lick City. “It’s always something with this guy. Never a dull moment out here.” I muttered. “True, but it’s good to be informed on recent things. Keeps reminding us that others are surviving out here in the wasteland.” Socket said. I could understand that logic. “Hey, I think there’s more.” Sprocket spoke up, as we listened. “…Now before I sign off, there’s one more bit of news for you to hear. It looks like we may have our own resident hero. I got my sources telling me that they saw a lone stallion taking on a bunch of raiders earlier today.” I sputtered and choked a bit on my last bit of stew when I heard that. I banged my chest a bit and gasped when it went down. I glanced at the others, looking equally shocked, before looking at the radio. “I don’t know the full details but apparently, this guy riding in some custom chariot sees some unlucky pony being chased by two raider-filled wagons. Now whether it was his conscience or something, he rides over smashes into one and goes commando on their sorry flanks!” Sprocket looks back at me, eyebrow raised, wanting a response. I didn’t answer as I listened to the radio. “Two explosions and few dead raiders later, he gets out of there with the pony and a wagon. Now I know there are salvagers and scavengers out here, looks like we got one with some bite. Also, I heard he even buried some poor soul by the road, talk about a good heart.” Socket Wrench glanced at me as he too listened to the report like us. “Well, that’s all for today. If this hero is listening, keep up the good work kid! Here’s an old classic from Sweetie Belle for the night. This is Audio Waves, signing off.” A soft melody began as a mare’s gentle voice started to sing. However, we didn’t register the song as our attention was still on the radio itself, specifically that last bit of news. I couldn’t believe it: my little skirmish made it to the radio, along with a brief description. Groaning, I slumped in my chair a bit and my hooves met my face. “Well …didn’t expect that to happen.” Sprocket spoke before turning the radio off. After that awkward moment, I finished my food and said my goodbyes. Socket Wrench told me not to think about the news. The description was vague at best, no pony would know it was me. Even if he was right, I didn’t feel comfortable about it. I left the shop and began my short trek back home. Small lamps on poles were lit to somewhat illuminate the small town. There were few ponies on the streets, probably on their way home. I made it to my trailer and went inside. Locking the door behind me, I took off my jacket and placed it on the rack. I maneuvered my way to my bed and sat on it. I took my goggles off but paused before putting them on the dresser. Looking at them, I stared at the lenses. Even with next to no light, I could still see my dark green eyes in them. Thinking back, I remembered what Suture said about the mare I brought back and her reaction. “There're numerous reasons for that but the only one I can think of goes back to her trauma. Something must have triggered a response.” Sighing, I placed them on the dresser. Feeling around, I found my small lamp and turned it on. Due to the added light, I found the item I was looking for and picked it up in my hooves. It was a small wooden picture frame with intricate carvings on the side with a black and white photo inside. It showed a family of three: a mare, a stallion, and a colt in between them with smiles on their faces. The stallion was a Pegasus, he had a scar over his left eye and a sharp look in both but still looked peaceful. The mare next to him, however, was a little different. She had darker stripes that went down her back, hind legs, muzzle and right cheek. She gave off a caring and nurturing feel that showed a mother’s care. Finally, the colt looked up at both parents with a sense of innocence, rare in the wasteland. He wore a small jacket with gray stripes in his mane, tail and one stripe on his right cheek. I looked at the mixed but happy family in the picture for a long time before looking at the zebra mare. I looked at her eyes, the same ones her son inherited and that caused fear in somepony. “Wakati huponya majeraha yote, lakini vitendo vya zamani na vya sasa vinaweza kuzuia siku zijazo. Inachukua juhudi za roho jasiri na zenye kujali kuponya majeraha haya kwa kesho bora.” I spoke in zebra. “That’s what you always said, right mom?” Giving a mental prayer, I placed the picture back on the dresser. “Good night, you guys.” I turned off the lamp and got under the covers. I closed my eyes and sleep soon took me. The next day arrived with the morning sun, light shining down on us. I had slept through most of the morning but got up just before breakfast was over. After that, I stopped by the motor pool to say hi and picked up a few spare parts before heading home to repair my shovel. After tightening a few screws, I collapsed it after replacing a section of metal. Remembering to stop by the clinic, I placed the shovel back in my bags, grabbed my jacket and left. Arriving there, I saw one of the nurses at the desk. The nurse looked up as I walked in. “Hello Aero, you here to see the doctor?” “Yeah, do you know where he is?” I asked the pink coated mare. She said he was in his office at the moment. Knowing where it was, I said my thanks, walked over and went down the same hallway from yesterday. Walking down the hall, I stopped at a familiar door only to see it closed. I wanted to, at least, see if she was awake but decided against it for privacy sake. Remembering Suture was waiting, I moved away and continued down the hall. His office was located at the end of it, his name etched into a metal plate next to the door was the only identification. I went up to the door and rapped a few quick knocks on it with my hoof. “What is it?” A voice called from behind the door. “It’s me Aero.” I called back. “Come in.” I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. The office was a small room with a metal desk taking up the most space with an old file cabinet on the left and a medicine cabinet on the right. Suture looked up at me from some papers when I closed the door and walked up to the desk. “Sorry for not coming earlier, I kinda stayed in for a while.” I said. “Not surprising considering the day you had.” He said. “Especially with the shots are ‘guest’ gave you.” My head throbbed a bit when he mentioned that. “Yeah, speaking of which, how is she?” I asked him, wanting to know the situation with her. Suture set the papers he was holding on a nearby stack and picked up his clipboard. He flipped a page or two over before speaking. “I gave her a complete once-over in case I missed anything and did what I could.” “And?” “The initial injuries weren’t bad: couple scrapes and bruises, no serious head trauma, no fractures or broken bones, no life-threatening injuries.” He listed off his diagnosis. “All in, she should be fine.” I let out a small sigh of relief, at least, she’s okay. When I looked up thought, Suture hadn’t looked up from his clipboard. “There’s something else, isn’t there?” He glanced up at me for a second before looking back down. “Remember the trauma I talked about yesterday.” Unconsciously, I lightly rubbed my throat. I remembered and the reaction it gave. Dreading the inevitable answer, I nodded for him to continue. “During her physical, I checked for any signs of it. Without her consent, I was limited but …I found something.” He looked up and stared at me as he said the next part. “There was bruising on her thighs and old scaring around her ankles and neck under her fur.” I felt a pit form in my stomach as my goggles covered my clenched shut eyes. Sadness and anger welled up inside me; even now, there are still those that do these acts. And I can almost guess on who the perpetrator was. Breathing slowly, I looked at Suture. “Can I see her?” Suture gave a nod and after setting the clipboard down got up from his seat. Walking around the desk and opening the door, he walked out and I followed close behind. We then began our walk down the hall to her room. “Did she ever wake up from the shot yesterday?” I asked him as we neared the door. “She woke up earlier; you can probably guess she didn’t like being restrained. Took us a while to calm her down enough just to feed her.” We stopped in front the right door. “She was still a little restless so we had to lock the door for precaution.” “Do you think she’s still awake? I just want to talk to her for a minute.” I said as he undid the lock. “If she is, just be careful and keep your distance.” He opened the door and walked in. “We wouldn’t want a repeat of yester-“ Suture stopped mid-sentence and halted mid-step and just stood there. Worried, I moved around to see him staring straight ahead, eyes wide in shock. Confused, I followed his line of sight and shared his shock at the cause. “Where’d she go?!” The only bed in the room, which was supposed to have a strapped down mare, had its covers thrown aside and destroyed straps. But no mare. I quickly moved towards the bed and picked up one of the straps; it looked like they were sliced with something sharp. Suture trotted up next to me and I showed him the strap. “She cut herself free.” He took the strap and examined it. I dropped down and checked under the bed. “Where would she go? There’s no window and the only way out is through a locked door.” Suture explained. I got up from the floor and thought about that. Suture was right, where could she have gone? We got our answer when my ears perked up after hearing something faint. A look behind showed the source. “Hey!” The mare, bandages wrapped around her head, stood in the doorway. Hearing my voice, she looked to give me the same hateful glare from yesterday before walking into the hallway, the door closing behind her. I sprinted to catch her but the door had closed shut; I tried the handle but the door didn’t budge. “Ah, she locked it!” I cried out. Suture came up beside me and helped in the effort but the door refused to open. “Damnit, how’d she get past us?!” He shouted. “She must’ve been behind the door when it opened.” I said. Suture then began to pound on the door with a hoof. “Somepony unlock this damn door!” He shouted through the door. Sighing, I backed up, turned around and reared up on. “Get back.” “What are you-” ‘THUD’ Hoof met metal as I bucked against the door, a solid thud resonating in the room. “The hell are you doing?!” He said. I reared and bucked the door again. “What’s it look like!” I bucked the door again, leaving a sizeable dent this time. “That’s a metal door your hitting; you're just gonna hurt yourself!” He chastised. One more buck and my legs came down on the ground, pain shooting through them. Gritting through it, I turned to look at the little damage I did. Well, that didn’t work, now what? As if answering, we heard movement on the other side. “Dr.Suture, are you in there?!” I recognized that voice, it was the mare from the front desk. “Unlock the door!” He called out. A moment later, a clicking sound was heard and the door opened. The pink nurse looking frightened and confused. “Are you two alr-” “Did you see where she went?!” I cut her off as I stood in front of her. “Sh-she ran past the front desk and went outside.” The nurse said. That’s all I needed. I didn’t hear Suture yell out to me as I ran past the nurse and down the hallway. I pushed past others as I ran out the clinic. My head snapped left and right, eyes scanning the place to find the bandaged mare. “Where’d she go?” I said to myself. ‘BLARE’ ‘BLARE’ ‘BLARE’ A loud alarm began going off that caused all of us to stop. Everypony looked towards the main gate as red lights on both sides started flashing. Those only go off when something bad I or has about to happen. Why would- “Oh no.” I whispered in dread. I sprinted off towards the motor pool hoping I was wrong. I ran up to the doors and threw them open. The scene that I got was as bad as I thought. There were tools scattered on the ground, ponies running around the place and the gate leading outside was busted outward. “Aero!” I looked left to see Sprocket and Dune Rat walk up to me. “What happened?” “That crazy mare you rescued!” Sprocket exclaimed. “She ran in here and before we could stop her, she got in one of the spare wagons and drove out into the wasteland.” Dune Rat explained. “Damnit.” I whispered. This could not be any worse, she was in no condition to go anywhere. Looking around the, I glanced over at Sky Runner. I pushed past them and made my way over to it. “Where are you going?” Sprocket asked as the two followed me. “I’m going after her.” I said as I opened the driver’s door. “Are you crazy?! You don’t even know where she went!” Sprocket said as I got in the seat and closed the door. “She was my responsibility, I have to. Besides, she might get into trouble out there.” I pressed the ignition button and engine hummed to life. “And what if you run into any raiders? You don’t have your gear!” He protested. I felt under the dashboard and unclasped something. I brought up a sawed-off shotgun for him to see. “If it comes to it, I still got this.” I gestured before placing it back. “Aero…” Dune Rat began. “Look, I know what you’re going to say but it has to wait. I brought her here, so I’m responsible for what she’s done and may do besides, she’s not fully healed.” I said. “So please Dune Rat, I have to go cause the longer I wait, the farther behind I’m going to be.” He looked at me for a long time; despite my goggles, he looked me dead in the eyes. He contemplated on what to say next. “…The spark battery in the wagon she took wasn’t fully charged. It should be slowing down by now. If you hurry, you should catch up.” “Thank you, I’ll be back before you know it.” I said. I popped it into drive and sped off through the hole and into the wasteland. Sprocket and Dune Rat watched as Sky Runner disappeared from sight. “He’s going to be okay…Right?” Sprocket asked. “…All we can do is hope for the best.”