Chapter 2: The Other Kids
[These radical malcontents don’t care...]
RRRIIIIPPP!
Pain burned down the side of my face but it barely registered. I just stared glumly at the melting ice in my hoof. Strands of fur stuck to the frozen tears that I’d torn from my face.
It had been an hour and I had barely moved at all. Now I could barely move.
Thanks to the constant and unforgiving cold, my tears had frozen solid still on my cheek requiring quick removal. My limbs felt sluggish, as if they had great weights strapped to them. Just lifting a leg was a test on my willpower. Willpower which the events of the past few days had already drained from me. When it finally came time that I had to either move or freeze to death, I’d still failed the test several times. I’d barely managed to get myself standing on unsure hooves and stumbled my way towards the cave mouth. I’d been beaten back by the biting wind though. I wouldn’t last 5 minutes outside as I was.
Was this your plan, Overmare? Am I to die out here? Two days of keeping me in isolation just to arrange for my death-by-exile? All to keep ‘Old Equestria’ out of the Stable? Are you that scared?
My grief was on the verge of falling into anger. Even as I cursed her, the Overmare’s words oozed out of my memories:
“You will be provided with clothing to survive the blizzard and supplies, including weapons, to find your way.”
Those words kept me from taking the plunge, but I didn’t step back from the edge either.
I suppose you had to give me a chance, eh Overmare? After all, I might not be the most liked resident of Stable 61, but I was on everybody’s lips. You couldn’t just kill me outright. You had to make it look good.
My sadness and anger swirled inside me as I turned and walked back to the Stable door to fetch the discarded pack, given to me by the very same guards who’d marched me right out here in the first place. Picking up the pack, I glared at the door for a few seconds until it threatened to turn pleading. There was nothing to indicate I even registered to those behind that door. I turned and walked halfway back along the tunnel.
Here I was, equidistant between my old existence and my new world. I could turn back and hammer at the Stable door until my hooves cracked and the ice claimed me, hoping in vain that the door would open just one more time…
Or I could keep going forward, into that world of white and cold, trusting the Overmare’s word that I wasn’t the only living thing out here. If she was wrong I’d still freeze, just faster.
Ugh. Some choice.
“You just lost my vote, Overmare.”
Without looking at the Stable, I began unpacking. I wanted to see exactly what “supplies” had been deemed suitable for a world nobody in the Stable had ever set hoof or claw in. As I removed each piece, I laid them out in front of me. Exactly what did ponies who’d never seen past that door know of survival? What goodies would even be relevant outside of the Stable?
First up was a fur-coated, pure-white hooded cloak lined with smooth fabric.
I thought the idea was for me to find others? How are they supposed to see me wearing this?
Next was some canned food, mostly dehydrated fruit and vegetables, but also some reconstituted meat. Seriously, that was the label. Reconstituted ‘meat’. No more detail than that. I made sure to stack those at the very bottom, a last resort only.
I really don’t want to know where that came from. If worse comes to worst, I’ll at least be able to choose starvation over freezing. What a master of my own destiny I am!
More digging revealed a small flask of ignition fluid and an electric lighter. The lighter had a full charge and the flask was good for starting half a dozen fires at least.
Great! This is just what I need to stave off the cold. All that’s missing is some dry firewood. That should be so easy to find IN A FREAKING BLIZZARD!
Some plothole back at the Stable must be laughing their Cutie Mark off at this oh-so-hilarious joke. Here’s hoping Lo sits on them when he finds out. Then Al. In fact, I’d like to sign him up for the full course Buff-Al-Lo special! Bet they’d find it real funny to need scraping off the floor. Ha. Ha. Ha.
I found a few swathes of fabric of mismatched colours in a side pocket. They weren’t clothes, just cloth, but at least I could stuff them down my Stable 61 jumpsuit for layers. Better than nothing. The goggles they were wrapped around were more useful. At least my eyeballs wouldn’t freeze. Better yet, they synched up with my Pipbuck, meaning its various functions could be accessed without constantly looking at the device on my wrist.
Finally I reached the weapons. At least here the guards hadn’t skimped. There was a large automatic rifle, at least I thought that was what it was based on what I could remember of self-defense training. Sadly it had no ammo, but it was in meticulous condition. I could even smell the lubricants on it. I guessed it had been restored during my two days in the Medical Ward.
Looks like the Overmare never really had any intention of letting me stay. I suppose I should be thankful that it works, even if it is empty. Heh, I’m worth the trouble to fix up the gun but not to put the bullets in. I wonder, is that good or bad?
Setting the rifle aside, I dug out the box it had been resting on. Opening it up I saw a smaller gun and a few ammo clips. This pistol, 9mm according to the box, wasn’t quite as pristine as the rifle though it was still in useable condition. Usually, according to the instructors, unicorns levitated firearms and pulled the trigger with their magic (I’d been shot an unkind look at this point). The non-unicorn way was to use your mouth to fire.
I looked at the handle of the pistol, and sure enough there was a mouth grip. I’d have to use that. I suppose that might help my accuracy, just point my head towards the target. I counted the bullets, 4 clips of 12 with another already loaded. 60 shots in total. Enough to scare most things away. If I found myself up against something that wasn’t worried about 60 shots from my gun I doubted I’d be able to run anyway.
Yeah, as if I could hit with all 60 shots. I haven’t even held a gun in months. I’ll be lucky if 10 are on target.
My last defensive addition was a pair of solid Power Hooves. They had no charge, but they were compact, not much bigger than the hooves they covered. I thought back to the fabric segments I’d been given.
I could think of worse fates than being Power Hoof-cosies. Emergency toilet paper for one. If I can keep the weapons hidden long enough they could make a half-decent last resort attack if I ever get in over my head.
Finally there was only one thing left in the pack. Wrapped in non-descript tissue, the memory orb was tucked away in a corner. The sphere made me uneasy so I left it where it was.
I’m not touching that thing if I can help it. I already lost my magic ‘cause of it, I’m not risking losing anything else.
Plus it hurt like hell!
Still, at least on that front the Overmare had been right. Probably. Something like that could do some damage in the wrong hooves. Even if the visions hadn’t meant much to me, there had still been that hooded unicorn’s words:
“I’d prefer neither Celestia nor Luna hear of this. They… would not be so kind.”
The war not-withstanding, to think of either Celestia or Luna as anything other than benevolent was difficult. The hooded mare might have been mistaken, though she sounded certain. Something that might tick off the rulers of Equestria was big news indeed, even if I never actually saw what it was. Should I try to find out? Would there even be anything left to find after 200 years?
Not really pertinent right now, Snowflake. Concentrate on surviving first. Besides, who are you going to tell even if you do find out?
That was a good point. I still had no idea whether or not anybody even lived out here. I breathed deeply, trying to calm down. There was really only one thing to do now.
I’d best wrap up warm.
~~~~~~
Okay. Fuck you, Overmare.
The wind howled and the snow blew right into my damn face! Without the goggles and my E.F.S. I would’ve been completely blind. The snow was everywhere and seemed to come from every direction. Whichever way I faced it found its way past my clothes and goggles to settle on my skin and steal some precious warmth. It was no gentle breeze either. I was blown off-balance as often as I was sure-hooved. The Eyes Forward Sparkle spell improved my vision so that I could locate others that I might not see otherwise and gauge their intent towards me. As it was I still couldn’t see much beyond which direction I was heading in.
I’d oriented myself away from the cave entrance and stuck stubbornly to that South-East direction. My Pipbuck had been no help. After I’d taken a few steps outside of the tunnel, an indicator had flashed up on the screen, telling me that it had found ‘Stable 61’.
Yeah, thanks for that.
Now I was hoping that I would be able to hear that ping again soon. Slogging my way through the snow and swirling blizzard was not fun. So far I’d gotten near buried when the ground beneath the snow had dropped away unexpectedly, gone down in a heap multiple times from rocks lying in wait beneath the white, walked into four different trees, and had to near-constantly readjust my cloak so that it wasn’t trying to strangle my head every five steps!
Nature sucked.
There were the occasional brief respites, brief as in 10 seconds tops, where I could take stock and make sure I was still heading in the same direction. This blizzard couldn’t go on forever, right? It had been going solidly for 200 years, straight but it couldn’t be everywhere, could it? There had to be not-snowy parts of Equestria, all the history books said there were. Appleloosa, Canterlot, Las Pegasus, anywhere not here.
I’d be happy enough finding out where here was so I could make sure I wasn’t here in the future. Come on, Pipbuck, give me something to work with!
Well in a way, it had. There was an indicator in the corner of my screen labeled ‘RAD’ with a gauge that went from green to red. Mine was still firmly in the green, though it had shifted a little to the right in the time I’d been outside. At this rate it’d take a couple of days to go yellow, maybe a week to hit red. I didn’t know what would happen when it hit red but that usually wasn’t a good sign. Red on any gauge back home meant somebody had screwed up pretty badly.
As I thought this, my E.F.S. did flash red. A red indicator had appeared from back the way I’d come, had appeared. It was heading towards me. I’d have been happy to see some life had it not been for the ‘hostile’ tag on the icon.
Nice trick. It’ll save me talking to the wrong guys. I don’t think I’ll be talking to this guy.
I sped up, trying to increase the distance between my pursuer and I. It didn’t do much good though. Whatever it was that was following me was closing fast. I risked a glance behind me just in time to see the OHSHITBIGFUCKINGMONSTERIT’SGONNAKILLME!!! crash down 10 meters behind me, throwing snow all around. I screamed and broke into a full sprint. The thing bellowed and rumbled after me.
I’d never seen anything like it, it was huge, bigger than even Buff! It definitely was NOT a buffalo though! The thing had foot-long claws, bulging muscle showing even through thick white fur, big black eyes and long webs of leathery skin connecting foot and fist! It was incredible that its legs could support its massive frame yet it stood upright and brandished its clawed tree-trunk arms before it menacingly.
Snarling past its twitching, snorting nostrils, the beast lunged forward. Its ridiculously oversized front teeth snapped shut inches behind me as I raced around a rock. The creature simply reached over the rock, gnashing and swiping wildly at me. Oh yes, did I mention it had wickedly curved tusks poking out of its horrible puffed-up cheeks? Said tusks tore three long holes in my jumpsuit and left my hide bleeding underneath, though thankfully the cuts were shallow. Still, they stung worse than coolant in the eye and I was not eager to repeat the experience.
I put everything I had into running. I had no idea where I could go but I just knew that I was finished if that thing caught up to me. Its heavy thumping footfalls sounded as it navigated the rock. My heart was hammering in my breast as I launched myself forward, urging my adrenaline-charged limbs to ever more speed. All the fear I’d felt upon being forced out of the Stable crystalised into deep terror of the thing chasing me. It became an avatar of the world outside, terrifying and unknown and something to flee from.
I take it back, Overmare. Not ‘fuck you’.
Save me.
Silhouettes loomed through the driving snow. Were they more of these things? Something bigger for it to snack on? Trees? I couldn’t outrun it and definitely couldn’t outfight it. They might be my only chance. Hoping that its size would slow it down further in where the woods were thicker, I broke in that direction.
I almost made it. Ten yards…
Five…
Two-woah! A huge claw swung through the air where I’d just been standing. Had I not dropped down the hidden cliff edge I’d have been in pieces right now. The behemoth bellowed but didn’t immediately follow me.
One problem down. Now then…falling.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” The silhouettes I’d hoped were trees across the clearing were in fact the peaks of much taller forest growing up from the lower slopes. Slopes I was currently sliding down at ever-more-fearsome speed. So far I’d been lucky not to hit one of these giant evergreens though I doubted that would last forever. I needed to find a way to stop myself.
I tried to snag a passing branch but I just ended up with a hoof full of splinters. The trees were blurs now. They flashed past so quickly. If I hit one of them dead on….well then that’d be a good choice of words. I swung my foreleg down, trying to anchor myself against the slide somehow. The added momentum sent me spinning. The world was revolving around me; tree, snow, wall, tree, tree, snow, wall, tree, snow, wa-
Oh hell.
I hit the barrier hard. Mercifully, the snow piled in front caught me instead of the concrete. I still had the breath knocked out of me though. It hurt to move, so all I could do was lie there on my back, staring back the way I came.
I was so sore and lightheaded, I barely reacted when the giant demon from up the hill bounded out of the trees. Nor did I particularly leap into action as unseen voices sounded and a barrage of bullets and projectiles slammed into the monster from atop the fortification I was lying under. Their weapons tore great chunks out of the beast and drove it to the ground. It was almost majestic when it wasn’t trying to kill me.
The light show was nice too.
I heard something shift and looked up. As the snow slipped off the barricade, my only action was to take a deep breath before disappearing under the white.
~~~~~~
“Think she’s dead?”
Nope. I’m not. Now shut up and lemme go back to sleep.
“Dibs on her stuff if she is!”
Good luck. It’s triple-locked and stashed away somewhere safe. I don’t even have the keys. Buff, Al, and Lo have one each.
“Dibs on HER if she is!”
Wait a second…
“Dammit Lenny! We done tol’ you about that!”
Who is Lenny and why is he allowed out in public?
“A stallion’s got needs…”
Then go find yourself a nice, breathing girl!
“Then go find yourself a nice, breathing girl!”
Okay, sick of this now.
My voice cracked as I tried to talk past my dry throat. “Lenny, touch me and I’ll castrate you.”
“Hey, she’s awake!”
“Aww.”
“LENNY!”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll go help the boys bring the carcass in.” There were sounds of hoofsteps as Lenny, or whoever, moved off.
Carcass? We’re bringing a carcass into the Stab-
Oh…right.
I opened my eyes.
Staring down at me were two Earth pony stallions. One was dressed in well-worn working cloths with furs bundled over the top. He had a grey coat with charcoal mane and was staring at me with a flat expression. He was young too, not yet a full adult. The other colt was more promising. He was also covered in furs but I spotted a well-worn doctor’s coat underneath. He had a mop of greying yellow mane atop his head which clashed horrendously with his emerald-green coat. His expression was kinder than the first pony’s even if I still thought it was a little guarded.
Still, he smiled when he saw that my eyes were open. “Hey there, darlin’. You gave us quite a show.”
People! People outside the Stable! Not just monsters!
I felt myself tearing up. Both their expressions turned to concern. “What’s wrong, girl? Ya ain’t hurt are ya?”
Instead of answering, my hooves shot out and grabbed them both around the neck, pulling them in tight as I sobbed out my relief. The younger pony stiffened in response.
“Please, please be real. Please be here.” My voice was a choked whisper.
I felt one of them shift, and then my embrace was being returned. A firm but gentle leg was rubbing my back. The grey pony shifted and laid his hoof on my shoulder reassuringly.
The older stallion gave a chuckle. “Well o’ course we’re real. You see a lot o’ things that ain’t, do ya, sweetheart?”
I didn’t want to answer at first. I wanted to stay here for a week, a month, forever. This was the first moment of real peace I’d felt since my exile. I was terrified of the thought of letting go, because If I did I might end up back in the tunnel, all alone.
Again.
I whimpered at the thought and shoved my face deeper into their warm furs.
Sympathetic they may have been, but they were also growing impatient. I felt the rumble in the doctor’s chest as he cleared his throat. “Seems you’re a li’l worse off than we thought, huh? Come on now, let’s go inside and get ya looked at. I promise we won’t hurt ya none.” The worker pony grunted his agreement.
Hesitantly, I slowly let go and raised my eyes. The kind expression was still on his face and I couldn’t see the wariness anymore. Even the worker pony was giving me a soft look now. He held out a hoof and pulled me up when I took it. I cast a quick glance around. We were still standing where I’d fallen. The demon that had been chasing me was nowhere to be seen, only a line of frozen blood ran from where it had been felled and into the town. The vibrant colour stood out in sharp contrast with the surrounding snow.
In a weird way, I felt like it meant something.
“Red ice.” I murmured.
“What’s that now?” The softness of the colt’s voice showed he wasn’t a full adult yet.
I shook my head and tried to give them a smile. “N-nothing. L-let’s go.”
I made sure to stay safely between the two ponies, still fearing that we were all the people that were left in the world.
Except Lenny but... ew.
~~~~~~
I tried to keep still as the doctor, who introduced himself as Dr. Facemask, examined me. We were in his home, which doubled as his office. It was a two-story home with a wooden finish and almost all of the furniture was covered in medical equipment. Most of it was basic. The place had definitely seen better days, though at least it was clean enough. The doctor had taken steps to avoid infection.
He was currently shining a light into my mouth while he used a wooden tool to push my tongue out of the way. “Sorry darlin’ but we ain’t got no lady docs to look ya over. There’s just me. I promise I ain’t gonna peek at your private parts. I’m just gonna give you the once over and make sure you’re a fit-as-a-fiddle filly.”
Honestly this was the last thing on my mind. Sure it would have been nice to get a mare to look me over, but I hadn’t really done anything with my ‘private parts’ since leaving the Stable. I was much more interested in getting my back scratches looked at. Who knew where that big beastie had been? I might catch some sort of….outside-germs! Residents hardly ever got sick in the Stable. Sure there’d be the occasional bout of food poisoning from some stock going bad but besides that we didn’t really have any epidemics. Anyone who looked a little off-colour would be sent to the medics for an antibiotic and be back to work within half an hour.
I should really get a hold of some meds. I don’t wanna be getting sick out here.
I wasn’t gonna be alone. There were people here in Cefar. Bosco, the worker pony who’d helped Facemask bring me in, had told me the name of the town just before he left to go help Lenny. I’d been more than happy to stay right here with the good doctor. My Pipbuck had already recorded the town’s name and location in relation to Stable 61.
I’d been relieved to find I had in-fact managed to keep heading South-East. According to Bosco and Facemask, there were other towns not far from here and even bigger cities too! At least I knew that there were towns out here. The Overmare had been right.
Equestria lived!
Facemask took the tongue depressor away and asked me to show him the scratches. With my tongue free, I decided to ask a few questions as I was shucking out of my jumpsuit. “Um…tell me about Cefar, Facemask. How long has the town been here?”
The older colt tapped his chin in thought. “I guess ya really ain’t from these parts, are ya? Everypony around knows about Cefar, being as we’re the place where the road ends an’ all. You reach this li’l town and ya only got two choices: Settle in or turn around. Ain’t nuthin’ out here but us. Been that way for as long as anypony can remember.” He paused for a moment as a gritty non-smile graced his grizzled lips. “O’ course, ‘long as anypony can remember’ is a lot shorter than it was before the war, y’know.”
Okay! Now we were getting somewhere. Facemask obviously wasn’t old enough to have seen the war but he had been around a long time. He should know something. “What do you mean a lot shorter? And why just ponies?”
He turned back to me, confused. “Whaddaya mean ‘why just ponies’? Ain’t nuthin’ but ponies in these parts for nigh-on 200 years. Well, I suppose we get the odd griffon contracted as a caravan guard but they head off soon as their business is done. Ponies are the only thing out here not countin’ the monsters like that Molar Bear you lured in. I’ll remind Bosco t’get yer caps fer that. Ah don’t want nopony tryin’ t’cheat the new girl. If nuthin’ else, Cefar is mostly honest. Keeps us outta trouble.”
“A Molar Bear? That thing?”
He simply continued to look confused. “Well, o’ course. Ain’t no two kinds o’ beasts as ugly an’ mean as them bastards. This must be your first time huntin’ one. They’re fierce creatures if they get the drop on ya. Litr’lly. They jump around in th’ trees. We had a fancy scientist type a while back who told us they were mutated squirrels, which is damn scary on account o’ him also sayin’ normal squirrels’re the size o’ yer hoof. Tha’s a damn scary thought. We get a few o’ you poacher-types through here each year, lookin’ t’bag a Molar Bear on account o’ them bein’ so tough t’ take down. Still, best ya git more info afore you take on yer next job. Leas’ this’ll be a good reputation boost fer ya.”
“Uh…Facemask?”
Oblivious, he continued, looking slightly more upbeat. “If’n yeh got the notion, feel free to bring in a couple more Molars. We’ll pay ya for each an’ ev’ry one. It’ll help yer cred and ‘s good fer the town too. Molar meat ain’t what any sane pony’d call a delicacy but it’ll fill ya up an’ it keeps an’ keeps an’ keeps. The hides an’ pelts fetch a fair price wi’ the traders too. Not t’mention-“
“Facemask!”
He halted his monologue long enough to give me a friendly but slightly miffed smile. “What’s the matter, darlin’?”
Pleased as I was with all the praise being heaped on me, I had to set the record straight. “Facemask, I’m no poacher and I certainly wasn’t hunting that thing. It came after me. I ran for my life in the general direction of away. I found Cefar by accident and the Molar Bear followed me. If you all hadn’t gunned it down I’d be dead right now.”
I began to shake, the realization only just catching up to me. “I…I…I could’ve died! I could’ve-“ The shaking worsened as my mind opened the floodgates and began reliving the ordeal in horrifically precise detail. My breath caught in my throat and I hunched over, gasping.
“Woah there!” Facemask pressed a drink into my hooves. It smelled of bitter herbs. “Drink that. Take slow sips, it’ll calm you down.”
I did as instructed. The taste was vile. It was a good while before I got myself back under control. It dawned on me that aside from the bright spot of not-being-alone I really had no real reason to be happy. I was still exiled from my own home and the only other people I’d come across had been found through a near-death experience.
I’d been in the outside world less than a day and all I’d done so far is halfway freeze to death, narrowly avoid getting gutted by a monstrosity and blunder across a dead-end town. To top it off, all the good will I’d built up with the town had been entirely accidental.
In short, my time outside Stable 61 was not going well.
While I’d been recovering from my panic attack, Facemask had simply stood by, ready to step in but not engaging. Now he spoke up. His voice wasn’t unkind but it demanded answers. “Who are you really, girl? There ain’t nuthin’ past the North-West boundary o’ the town and ya said yerself ya ain’t no hunter. Ya come chargin’ in wi’ a hellbeast ya ain’t never seen before on yer tail when there ain’t no good reason fer ya t’be out that way. Yer gear ain’t ‘xactly the norm either. Wha’s the ‘61’ mean?”
He doesn’t know about Stable 61? Is that good or bad? One way to find out. Better be careful though. Don’t tell him too much.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. My emotions still threatened to boil over, especially about the Stable, but I had to choke them down if I was gonna get through this. I faced him as evenly as I could and spoke slowly, taking my time. I needed to pick my words carefully. I did not want to turn Facemask into an enemy. I didn’t feel up to much right now and he had a whole town’s worth of backup. Like Lenny. I had no idea about life out here. For all I know, Lenny could be normal. “It sounds like we both have questions. Shall we trade? You answer one of mine, I answer one of yours?”
I really hoped he agreed. The only weapons I had on me were my lifeless Power Hoofs while the doctor had a whole clinic for an armory. Thankfully he nodded after a moment of consideration. “Awright. But I go first or no deal. Question number one: Where’d ya come from?”
Damn. I was hoping we could work up to that one. Well, here goes…
I rolled up the sleeve of my jumpsuit, exposing my Pipbuck. “I’m from Stable 61. It’s North-West of here, up in the hills. Stuck in the middle of the blizzard.”
From the momentary look of unease on his face, this was not welcome news. As he opened his mouth to talk, I jumped in first. “My turn. Tell me what happened 200 years ago. Our Stable shut its doors on the war a month before whatever incident cut communications. I’d like to know what that incident was.”
Facemask shrugged. “Now these’re just stories that get passed down. Some o’ the ghouls talk about it too. Basic’lly the war was getting’ worse. Both sides, pony and zebra, were makin’ bigger and better weapons and ways t’kill a feller. Finally both sides got their hooves on these things called ‘megaspells’. Superweapons they were, chock-full o’ magic and capable o’ untold levels o’ destruction. Nopony knows who fired the first one but soon as one went up they all did. Zebra fired on pony cities and vice versa. Bombs fell, ev’rypony died. T’top it all off, the damn things shat out magical radiation that’s still killin’ and mutatin’ all manner of life even now. When the dust cleared, there weren’t no Equestria anymore, just the Wasteland. Guess your Stable’s first dwellers were some pretty smart folks after all.”
He grunted and looked away, not immediately asking his next question. I’d have been glad if I were paying the slightest bit of attention. My mind was reeling. Old Equestria hadn’t just failed like we’d been taught. It’d been completely destroyed, mutilated, scarred. From the sound of things, we couldn’t go back to that life even if we wanted to. And what were ghouls?
Stable 61’s fear, Old Equestria, has been dead almost as long as the Stable has been alive.
Huh.
While I was figuring out how to feel about that, Facemask asked his next question. “Back t’me. Ya said ‘Our Stable’. Who’s ‘Our’?”
Still puzzling over the philosophical implications of fearing something long dead, I answered on automatic. “There’s around 300 Stable residents. Half are ponies. There’s a pretty even split between Earth, Unicorn and Pegasus. Maybe 50 Griffons too. The rest are Buffalo, donkeys, Diamond Dogs, and Zebra.”
Facemask looked like was going to faint. “ZEBRA!?”
I wasn’t paying close enough attention to understand his disbelief. “Well, mostly. It’s been 200 years. A fair number of them will probably have some pony in their family tree by now and vice versa. Stable 61 was open to anybody who wanted to get away from the war.”
There was a clatter as he jumped up from his seat and began pacing. “Oh no no no no. Oh this SO ain’t good. A new Stable full o’ goodies will bring the Steel Rangers down on us. Zebra and Pegasi! That’s a whole other barrel o’ fish too. Sweet Celestia, Snowflake!”
Now Facemask had my full attention. There was apparently a lot to discuss. “Who are the Steel Rangers? What’s wrong with Zebra and Pegasi?”
He vehemently shook his head. “No, no more questions. Ya gotta get outta here pronto!”
There was apparently a lot to NOT discuss. “Why? What’s going on?”
His response was a haunted look. He didn’t stop moving once. It was almost as if he was afraid to. “More’n ya know, girl. Get yer things, I’ll get ya yer caps then ya gotta hit the road.”
I folded my hooves and didn’t move. I stared him straight in the eyes and spoke calmly. “Hold on a second.”
His exasperation was palpable. He seemed torn between staying and just bolting out the door. “What is it already?!”
I grinned victoriously. “I’m still owed an answer to a question.”
He could only sputter. While he was trying to speak, I reached into my pack and brought out the memory orb. “What can you tell me about this?”
This had an unexpected effect. Facemask froze. He didn’t sputter or pace or anything. Were it not for his chest rising and falling you could have mistaken him for a statue. His eyes never left the orb.
I grew bored after 3 minutes had elapsed, so I reached out and whapped him upside the head. This snapped him out of his trance. His eyes turned dark and he was as far from smiling as you can get. “I reckon we better go see Bosco.”
~~~~~~
“Sooo…” I began, shooting a glance at the pony walking beside me, “Facemask seems nice. Is he your boss or something?”
Bosco shook his head, causing his charcoal bangs to whip back and forth. For some reason, it reminded me of Lo. I resisted the urge to ruffle them with my hoof. At further glance, he looked about the same age as Buff, Al, and Lo. He was almost an adult but not quite there yet. His gentle voice helped to emphasize this. “No, he’s not my boss.”
He didn’t elaborate. I regarded him warily. I was still lacking an answer to my question about these ‘Steel Rangers’ which got me thinking. It was obvious that Facemask wasn’t a fan. I supposed it might be worthwhile to take heed of his fearful reaction and avoid them. But then again, after hearing more about the Wasteland and the history I was eager to learn more about the world outside the Stable.
My initial fears had begun to fade. I still felt my chest go tight sometimes but at least it wasn’t the constant dread I’d dwelled in while sitting outside the Stable door. Since Facemask had decided that our exchange-of-information was over, that left Bosco as my de-facto guide to the Wasteland. “So why are you coming with me? I mean I’m glad for the company but don’t you have things to do back in Cefar?”
Bosco shifted slightly. His expression was complicated. “Doc asked me to. Said it was important. Frankly I think it’s because you’d never survive the trip to Lethbridle on your own.”
I’m not that helpless, was I?
Yeah, I kinda was. I buried any resentment and gave him a smile. “Well thanks, Bosco. I really appreciate it.”
My words caused the colt to brighten instantly. His step became light and easy. His eager eyes sparkled as he responded. “No problem! Whatever I can do for you I’ll do. You just need to ask.”
My urge to ruffle his mane suddenly grew. The boy was earnest and no mistake. If he’d been back at the Stable I’d have probably been looking after him too. I hoped it wasn’t gonna cause problems though. Somebody like Roc could all too easily take advantage of Bosco’s kindness. “So what’s in Lethbridle?”
He simply shrugged. “More ponies, mostly. It’s much bigger than Cefar. We may be where the road truly ends, but most traders don’t go further than Lethbridle. It links to Neighlway in the west and Plottawa in the east, though you should avoid that one.”
As he talked, my Pipbuck pinged 3 times. The map zoomed out and each city was displayed as a point-of-interest. “So are they cities too?”
“Yeah, but they aren’t as friendly as Lethbridle. Neighlway’s got a Steel Ranger battalion stationed there ‘to keep the peace’. Peh, show up with anything flasher than a pistol and they’ll be after your piece.”
“Why?”
“Steel Rangers fancy themselves the guardians of pre-war tech. They think it should be in the right hooves, meaning theirs. They’re not shy about using the tech they’ve built up to get more either. Their fighters are decked out tail-to-horn in power armour. You don’t wanna get on the wrong side of one o’ those, ‘specially cause there’s usually more than one of ‘em.”
He looked me right in the eyes. “My advice to you personally is to avoid them at all costs. They’ll be wanting that box on your leg and I won’t guarantee you’ll still have the leg afterwards.”
I gulped. My Pipbuck was not only very helpful but also one of the only reminders I had of Stable 61. I didn’t want to lose it under any circumstances and certainly not to a bunch of history-obsessed hoarder thugs.
While I was musing on that grim image, Bosco had switched his focus. “Now Plottawa isn’t any better. No Steel Rangers there. They won’t risk it. They might have the hardware but they don’t have the numbers. Plottawa does. It’s a major Slaver base. If you go there you go there in chains.”
“What are Slavers?”
He scoffed. “You’re kidding right?”
My saddening expression made him relent. “Right, sorry. You’re new around here. Slavers are ponies who take other ponies captive. They treat them like property to be bought, sold and used. They’ll fix a collar around your neck that’ll explode if you try to get away or piss ‘em off. Sometimes they’ll just do it for fun.”
“That’s terrible! Doesn’t anybody do anything?”
I really didn’t like the look he gave me. It was equal parts sadness, pity, grimness and resignation. “Ponies out here have to look out for themselves. Anypony gets a thought in their head to try changing the world swiftly gets a bullet in their head, or twelve. You want to survive? Keep your head down and your nose clean. The Wasteland is not kind to idealists.”
I huffed at this. “So nobody helps each other out? Nobody cares?”
“Of course they care! They just can’t afford to care about the big stuff. They concentrate on helping themselves and their loved ones. Anything more is a luxury.” He shook his head. “That’s life. It’s your life now too. If you don’t like it you can always go back where you came from.”
Those words stung. I lowered my head as tears began to form. “I can’t.”
Immediately his voice switched to one of concern. “Why not?”
I dug the sphere out of my pack, eliciting a gasp from Bosco. “Because of this. After I found it I was exiled from the Stable.”
Bosco didn’t immediately respond. He just stared at the orb for a while. “I’m starting to see why Facemask asked me to come along with you.”
“What do you mean?”
Wordlessly, he produced 3 more spheres that were very similar to mine.
“There’s more of these things?!”
He nodded. “Uh-huh. They’re called Memory Orbs. They’re magical trinkets that store memories inside.”
“So what I saw was a memory?”
“Yup. Your magic triggered the memory spell. Shot the memory straight into your head. You’re lucky. Non-Unicorns need a Recollector to view them. I haven’t come across one yet so I don’t know what’s in these three.” He held them out. “Want a look?”
I recoiled immediately. “By Luna, no!”
He cocked his head to the side, confused. “What’s wrong?”
I stabbed my hoof towards my orb. “This one nearly killed me!”
“What do you mean?”
“The memory went crazy on me! Everything went white and…and…there was too much at once. Emotions, sensations, noises, everything! Hours and hours of it! It ended just before the memory did. I saw maybe another minute or two at the end.”
Bosco turned and walked back and forth, deep in thought. “They’re……not supposed to do that.”
He held out a hoof. “May I see it?”
I hesitated, holding the orb close. I thought about the Overmare’s words.
“Keep it secret. Keep it safe.”
She seemed really concerned that some pony might take it from me. I looked at Bosco’s face. He betrayed nothing except concern and compassion. It was difficult to fight. Finally I groaned and passed it over.
He gave me a brief smile before holding it up to his eye, turning it back and forth. He was holding it up and turning it in front his eye when his brow creased. He gently rubbed a hoof back and forth before looking at his hoof. At last he seemed satisfied. He waved me over. “Look here.”
I moved in closer and followed where he was pointing. I didn’t see anything at first, just the orb’s surface, a perfect sphere….except….yes! I saw it! A fine line across the surface. Light seemed to emit from it but it was hard to look at. My eyes seemed to unfocus while staring. It took a lot of effort to keep it in my view. I shook my head when my eyes began crossing.
“What does it mean?”
Bosco handed it back and briefly examined his own orbs. Then he looked at me. “I think it’s damaged. The memory didn’t play back like it should.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. The memory inside should play out just as the pony who went through it saw it. Sounds to me like you got hit with a lot more memory at once than you were supposed to.”
“So…what? I got a few days shoved into my head in a few hours?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. We’ll need to look into getting it fixed if you want to see the whole thing.”
“Does anybody know how to fix it?”
“I dunno. Our best bet would be to ask around Lethbridle I think. There’s a fair few Unicorns there. Maybe one of them knows?”
That wasn’t very comforting. I was hoping for a definite destination. I wanted to go there, get the orb fixed and……find somebody else to look into it. Now I just had to hope I’d stumble onto somebody who knew about these things.
Wait a second…
I narrowed my eyes. “Bosco, how do YOU know about all this? You said yourself that Cefar’s pretty out of the way.”
He smiled helplessly. “I’m not from Cefar. I’ve been around.”
No more was said on the matter.
~~~~~~
We’d walked in thoughtful silence for an hour until we came across an abandoned play park which my Pipbuck named ‘Snow Pegasus Park’ and Bosco called a halt. I brushed the snow out of a small hut and sat down inside. The grey colt strolled around the different activities on display, gently pushing a swing back and forth and walking up and down the seesaw.
When he joined me his eyes remained on the merry-go-round. I’d seen his expression of longing before. Al sometimes wore it. Smiling, I leant over and nudged him. “Go on, nobody’s watching. I won’t tell.”
Startled out of his reverie, he blushed and coughed. “What…what do you mean?”
I said nothing, just nodded my head in the direction of the play park and winked. His blush deepened but he gave me a grateful smile and bounded off. He grabbed the spinning apparatus in his front legs and began pushing with his hind hooves, spurring the ride faster and faster until he was sprinting round and round. Finally he hauled himself inside and sat grinning madly as he was whirled.
I knew it. Poor guy.
There were some things little ponies never grew out of…even if they were taught that they should. You saw it with the teenage Stable residents. They took on more and more responsibility as they grew but the sadness stayed in their eyes when they watched the children at play. They still wanted to join in even while being drawn more and more into the world of adults.
That’s why I said nothing, just sat and watched this colt-going-on-stallion indulge in his carefree game. I kept a smile on my face as the momentum finally got the better of him and he tumbled over the side, giggling as he landed on his back in the snow.
He stopped laughing when the bullet slammed into the snow next to his head.
Bosco was up in an instant. “COME ON!” He dragged me out of the hut and together we bolted. We hadn’t gone 5 feet before more bullets began raining down upon us and a manic howling sounded out through the trees.
My heart was pounding as I tried to keep up with the grey colt’s pace. “What’s going on? Why are people shooting at us?”
His breath misted as he ran, breathing hard. “Raiders. They don’t really need a reason. They’re crazy ponies. Killers, all of ‘em. Went savage after the bombs fell. Been terrorizing the Wasteland ever since. We gotta run!”
I saw something flash past us on the left just before a small fireball erupted, coating us with snow from the overhead branches. “What was that?!”
“Grenade. C’mon move!”
I couldn’t help it, I risked a glance back. I saw them then, half a dozen ponies in torn, filthy leather adorned with spikes and skulls and everything out of a filly’s nightmare. They gnashed their terrible teeth and roared their terrible roars. Their eyes were the worst though, they were bloodshot and unfocused yet they definitely saw us from how they charged after us. I saw one go down and the others just ran over him.
They were a mix of Unicorns and Earth Ponies, no Pegasi. The head pursuer was a grimy orange Unicorn who levitated a near-wrecked shotgun in front of him as he ran. The gun barked and tore a chunk out of the tree immediately to my left. I had no more time to spare looking at them so I whipped my head around and tried to spur myself to greater speed.
Bosco flung his arms around me and hurled us both down a nearby incline. As we slid down I couldn’t help but be reminded of the last time I was sliding through snow. I was being chased then too.
Luna, I really hope there aren’t any Molar Bears around.
We were halfway down when the Raiders followed us. They hadn’t even hesitated. They just launched themselves over the edge, the bloodlust driving them on. Meanwhile, Bosco and I clung to each other as we accelerated. At the bottom of slide was a natural ramp and we were heading right for it. We’d be airborne in seconds. The Raiders weren’t exactly sharpshooters but they only had to get lucky once.
I screamed as a bullet tore through my jumpsuit and scored a deep gash along the length of my shin. Thankfully the bullet didn’t hit me straight on. Bosco grunted as his tough Molar-hide covering barely deflected another.
We hit the ramp and went airborne.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Why is flying even worse than falling?
Wait, who’s that?
Thanks to being upside down in the air, I noticed two newcomers on the ground beneath us. My EFS tagged them as blue ‘friendlies’. A most welcome change to the 6 red marks still careening down the slope after us. “RUN! RAIDERS!”
The two obviously weren’t fresh out of a Stable. At my warning, they didn’t waste time talking. Instead they immediately went for their weapons. The taller of the two was an older Earth mare with a wood-brown coat covered in scars and a conifer-green mane. She carried the strangest contraption. It was like a harness but a pair of impressive guns adorned the sides of the thing and she was busying herself with it after my warning.
The moment the Raiders came into view she opened fire, perforating them as I feared they’d do to us. A Unicorn colt and an Earth mare hit the ground. The rest scrambled for cover.
While this was happening the second member of the duo was just as active. She was a diminutive griffon with rich chocolate fur, creamy feathers and the most incendiary blue eyes I’d ever seen. She held a pistol in each of her claws and was strafing the Raiders, who returned fire.
We landed in mercifully soft snow, completely forgotten by the Raiders now that there was an enemy who shot back. I lay transfixed as I watched the battle, the sounds and lights and heat washing over me as bullets, bodies, and explosions flashed back and forth.
I felt a hard tug on the back of my hood and jerked upright. I turned to look at Bosco as he spat the fabric out and glared at me. “Are you nuts?! Don’t stop! We’ve gotta get outta here while the Raiders are busy!”
I thought about the nameless pair we’d inadvertently drawn into the skirmish. Competent and well-armed as they seemed to be, they still hadn’t asked for this. “But those two-“
“What did I tell you before?!” Bosco’s voice lost some of its softness while he was angry. “We look after ourselves. It’s a shame about those two but better them than us. Now move!”
He grabbed my cloak and slung me around in front of him, pushing from behind. I took one last look back towards the battle and began to move.
As we ran, the lump in the back of my throat grew larger and heavier. I could barely concentrate on putting my hooves in front of one-another. The Earth mare’s scarred face, torn and bleeding, appeared in my mind.
We die so you can live.
I didn’t dare respond. Not even a thought. I couldn’t.
The griffon’s blazing blue eyes glared at me. What did we do to you?
My breath caught in my throat. The lump felt like it was choking me. Distraught, I called out to Bosco. “They’ll be okay, won’t they?”
“Sure, whatever.” He didn’t even turn around.
“BOSCO!”
“I DON’T KNOW!!” He still hadn’t turned around. “All I do know is that WE wouldn’t be okay if it was us.”
I hated him at that moment, almost as much as I hated myself. Before I could snap back at him I was distracted by my E.F.S. flashing. New contacts to the East. More Raiders? Whoever they were they were blood-red on my screen.
They were also heading right for the battle we’d just left behind.
The griffon’s head turned to the mare’s visage. Do you think she’ll help us?
The mare simply smiled a knowing smile. She might come back……to watch us die.
The little griffon seemed to ponder this. She nodded. Yeah, seems like what she’d do.
“NO! I’m not like that!” I screamed at them, begging them to understand.
“Snowflake?” Bosco’s confused call went in one ear and out the other.
The griffon and Earth mare didn’t say anything more, they were just staring at me.
Then they began screaming as their faces fell apart.
Tears welled in my eyes.
Please, no!
A new voice spoke next, one I knew all too well.
Are you lost to Old Equestria already, Snowflake? The Overmare’s face radiated weary disappointment.
I skidded to a halt. A second later Bosco did the same. “Snowflake?”
“I’m sorry, Bosco. I just can’t do it.” Turning, I raced back the way we came.
I’d gotten 20 meters before I heard a miffed “Celestia damn it!” just before the sound of the charcoal colt’s hoofsteps joined mine.
I owe you one, Bosco.
I kept my eyes on my E.F.S. markers as we raced back to the fight. At this rate we’d have a couple of seconds before the 2nd group reached the fray. I hoped that was enough to warn the pair.
I caught sight of the griffon and mare at the same time the new contacts entered my peripheral vision.
Yep, more Raiders.
I still had some distance on them. We might be okay. Only two of the original attackers remained, though they had a height advantage on the two blues. The griffon and Earth mare couldn’t move without losing their cover, but they were sitting ducks for the new group where they were.
As I ran, I looked around for somewhere I could move them to keep both sets of Raiders from getting a good shot. I was still looking when I heard a Chuff! Chuff! Of a weapon firing from the new Raiders.
“GRENADE!” Bosco’s yell drew my eye towards the dark pods arcing through the air towards the blues.
“LOOK OUT!!” I put everything I had into the shout and, Luna-be-praised, it carried. The Earth mare’s head snapped around in alarm. Her eyes instantly focused on the grenades falling towards them and she grabbed her companion and leapt over the snowbank they’d been taking cover behind.
The grenades exploded right where they’d just been, throwing up a cloud of pulverized snow. It must’ve hampered the view of the last pair of original Raiders because they took no shots at the pair as they ran for new cover.
With their immediate targets now taking cover, the new Raiders turned their attention towards the one who’d ruined their fun. Me. Bullets and magically-thrown projectiles slammed into trees and the ground around me as I ducked down behind a not-quite-big-enough rock. It became even more so as Bosco leapt in after me, his tail ablaze.
He quickly began stamping it out on the ground, glaring at me all the while. “What have you got to fight with? I really hope you’re not so stupid as to take on Raiders without weapons.”
I smiled grimly. “Maybe I am that stupid, but not right now. Got a pistol with plenty of ammo. Some Power Hoovess too but they’re out of charge. You?”
He reached into his back and dragged out a pistol and a knife. “Enough to put up a fight but nothing special. Can you shoot?”
“Uh….”
He sighed heavily. “Try and stay low. Keep in cover and use your magic to aim the gun.”
I blinked in surprise. “My magic?”
He was busy loading the pistol and nodded off-hoofedly. “Yeah, levitate the pistol and squeeze the trigger. Saves you holding it in your mouth like the rest of us.”
He wasn’t gonna like this next part. “My magic is….uh….kinda gone right now.”
His hoof slipped and a bullet dropped out of the chamber into the snow. He scrambled to pick it up and slammed it home. Cocking the pistol, he peaked over the rim of our barricade, ducked down just before a bullet hit, and stared flatly at me. “You are the sort of idiot who dies in the Wasteland, you know that?”
I could only squirm, ashamed. “Sorry?”
His eyes darkened. “If we live through this, we will have words. Now, since your horn is just a damn target right now, hold the gun in your mouth and squeeze the trigger with your tongue. Don’t shoot your entire clip at once or you’ll burn your mouth off.” He put his mouth over his own gun and popped around the side, squeezing off a shot that caught a Raider mare in the leg. She went down screaming. Bosco didn’t look back.
The battle was on.
I tried to emulate Bosco, leaning around the side to line up a shot. I saw a Raider Unicorn preparing to fire at the griffon.
Of course HIS magic works just fine. So unfair.
I held my pistol in my teeth, sighting along the barrel. I thought I had a good angle.
Now what?
My chest turned to lead as I realized the situation I was in. With a flick of my tongue, I could end a life. The Raider would die by my hoof if I pulled the trigger. Could I do that to save two others who were just as much strangers to me as this Raider? The only difference being that the Raider had shot at me and there was no guarantee that wouldn’t happen with the griffon and Earth mare later. Was I really able to see who was an enemy here? Could I trust my E.F.S.? Could I trust Bosco’s word?
No. Not yet. Not for this.
I changed targets and pulled the trigger. My shot caught the Raider’s gun dead-center.
There, now he’s out of the fight. He won’t be crazy enough to fight without a wea-
Startled, the Raider pulled the trigger. The gun exploded. He fell back screaming as his face was obliterated. The Raider beside him calmly turned her own gun on him, silencing his screams before getting back into the fight.
I just stared in shock until a bullet glanced off the casing for my goggles and sent me sprawling. Stars exploded before my eyes as I lay there, dizzy and confused. The pain around my eye was pretty intense. I suspected I’d have a pretty bad shiner later.
Something thudded into the ground next to me. Still disorientated, I turned towards whatever it was and found myself staring into blue fire.
“Pretty.” I remarked, still not comprehending our situation.
The blue fire blinked. “Save it for later,” groaned the griffon as she tried to rise. There was a roughness to her voice that was somehow….honest. A pleasant contrast to Bosco’s soft speech which vanished had seemed to disappear the moment things got real.
The griffon hauled herself upright and then pulled me up after her. “Can you still fight?”
I opened my mouth to answer just as the Raider stepped out from behind the trees. It was the unicorn colt leader of the first group. He looked to be all that remained of those six. He still had that battered shooter and was aiming it at my new friend. He was moments from pulling the trigger. I couldn’t get us out of the way in time, and I was no quick draw. If I didn’t do something the griffon would die, and my monumentally stupid attempt at heroics would amount to nothing.
What happened next was most definitely instinctual. Usually my magic was so far down on my list of things to try it barely registered. Still, somehow my horn lit up with a glacial blue-white glow as the Raider’s gun locked on. Time slowed.
The crinkle of ice forming in the barrel only just outpaced the click of the trigger being pulled.
This time there was too much rust and not enough gun left for an explosion. The thing simply shattered. Still, the Raider swore loudly as the jagged segments gashed his forelegs. The griffon heard it and she spun around, pistols up. Three shots in the nose, chest, and stomach turned the Raider into a gruesome pastiche of a foal’s button-doll.
The thud of the Raider’s body hitting the ground nearly deafened me. I realized a few seconds later that it had been the only sound there was to hear. The battle was over. I turned in a slow circle, taking in the scene. A dozen bodies littered the ground, all of them adorned in torn leather. Thankfully, no charcoal or wood-green carcasses were to be seen.
It took me a little while to spot Bosco walking gingerly towards us. He was moving slowly, not putting any weight on his right foreleg. I’d look at that in a little while. The Earth mare’s head was poking over a snowdrift, one eye closed as blood from a deep scalp-cut dripped down around it. She was smiling though so I guessed she was alright. I completed my circle to find the griffon a foot from me, smiling widely.
“That was a nice trick with the gun. I owe you one. Well, three really. One for each Raider group.” She held out a claw for me to shake or bump or something. I stared at it momentarily before looking back at her.
“Don’t take this the wrong way.” That was all I managed to get out before my stomach decided enough was enough. I’d seen too much and my actions had produced consequences I never would have dreamed of before today. There was only so much a pony fresh out of the Stable could tolerate. My body had reached its limit.
I puked all over her outstretched claw.
“Oh, come on!”
~~~~~~
Level Up!
Perks gained:
Cherchez la filly – New dialogue options when talking with females.
Breaking the Ice – Your Frost Magic is beginner-level.
~~~~~~
Author’s note: Another chapter down. I promise the next one will have more emphasis on the plot.
I got most of the recap exposition out of the way here so I don’t need to focus on it going forward. I hope it wasn’t too boring. A big thank you to Epidemiix, kiwi_poo and Berithil again for healing the English language again after I butchered it here.
A big thanks to Kkat too, for Fallout: Equestria. Without it we wouldn’t be here reading/writing this.
I’m looking for more pre-readers if anypony is interested. Leave a comment if you want to join and I’ll get in touch. The more help I can get the less likely I am to screw up and contradict FoE canon (which I really don’t wanna do). More people also means more ideas, which is always nice.
I apologise to....well, everyone, for my lack of geographical knowledge of Canada. I am aware that Canada is not all frozen tundra but I didn’t want to go too far north so I googled border cities. I honestly have no idea where Ottawa is in Canada besides being vaguely southern. Sorry again. If any Canadian bronies wish to educate me on these noble lands I would not say no.
What else? Oh yes, please leave a comment/feedback on the story. Knowing that there’s interest helps me (and writers in general) keep writing. You guys totally have all the power here XD.