You stood looking out over the ashen wasteland, carrying the burlap sack that Runt had given you. Looking down the hill into the gray valley, you noticed patches of ash that were much darker than the rest. Around these patches were some large parasprite like creatures floated above the patches in a defensive manner. Moving carefully in between them was a bony dorsal fin.
After your talk with Oracle about finding the other ponies, you had heard no more dialogue from her. Was she afraid of something? Oracle's reluctance had seemed rather odd to you.
You were pulled from your daydreaming when suddenly Runt burst out of the ground, clenching a round, gray object in her teeth. Immediately the mutated parasprites buzzed angrily and began to swarm toward her.
Diving quickly in and out of the ash, Runt moved at high speeds toward you. The parasprites charging after her, their teeth gnashing at the air.
Carefully you held the sack open as Runt drew near. With a swift motion of her neck, Runt flung the item she was holding, a strange papery sphere into the sack.
"Let's go!"
As soon as Runt dove into the sand and you heard the buzzing of wings, you knew you had to flee by yourself. After shoving the burlap sack inside your saddlebags, you began to run as fast as you could.
Stretching out your wings, you tried taking to the air and for a brief moment, your flapping seemed to work… before you face planted into the ash. As you lay there on the ground, you heard the sound of buzzing wings drawing near. Sitting up, you saw a mutated parasprite drawing near, its mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.
The monster hissed as it proceeded to lung at you before a familiar set of jaws emerged from the ground, biting into the mutated parasprite and pulling it beneath the ash. Standing up you continued to run, Runt had bought you time and now it was time to flee.
You ran and ran until you could no longer hear the ominous buzzing of the swarm. Sitting down in the ash, you tried to catch your breath. It would seem that you needed to work harder if you wished to use your wings.
Hearing the sound of moving ash off to your left, you turned to see Runt emerge.
“You got it?” Runt asked.
You pulled the burlap sack from your saddlebags. “Yes.”
“Good, then we should head back.”
“What is it?” You asked as you peered into the sack and looked at the large, papery ball.
“Food, duh.”
You shrugged and after sealing up the sack, put it back into your inventory. No doubt, it would make more sense once you returned to the lair.
Standing up, you began to follow Runt back to your new sanctuary, when something caught your attention off to your right. Turning you saw in the distance a statue of what must have been one of the princesses who lived before the cataclysm, its features eroded away by time. At the foot of the statue stood a pony shaped figure, antlers or maybe root like structures covered in thorns, reaching up into the sky. Lavender spheres of light floating around those strange antlers.
“What’s that?” You asked, pointing toward the creature.
Runt followed my hoof, her expression turning sour as she saw what I was pointing at. “You’d better stay clear of those things, pet.”
“Why?”
“Servants of the sleeping goddess are not to be messed with,” Runt explained, “they are unpredictable and dangerous.”
That was strange coming from a monstrous pony like her. Still you weren’t feeling up to challenging Runt’s words, especially considering how she was currently your only ally in this world.
Still the way, Runt uttered sleeping goddess made you feel uneasy. Who was this goddess? Some sort of monstrous alicorn-like creature or maybe something far scarier. What sort of being would intimidate an Ash Lurker like Runt? Perhaps that was a question to ask her another time, for now you needed to return back to base, your journey drawing you deeper and deeper into the city ruins.
As the two of you returned to Runt's lair, you spotted the strange vessel you had encountered with the raider's when you had emerged from PACS-039. Seeing the ship, a bit of curiosity overcame you, as you walked over to the vessel.
"What are you doing?" Runt asked.
"I'm just taking a quick look at this contraption," you answered, as you pulled yourself onto the vehicle.
Aside from a couple bloodstains and a few disturbing decorations that the raiders had left behind, it was a decent looking ship. From the top of the vessel you could see that it was very much like a medium sized boat but without the sails, the machinery serving as the ship's propulsion.
Examining the vessel, you realized that it was in pretty good shape aside from the damaged terminal, which you guessed was used to pilot the vessel. With the right equipment you could possibly repair it.
"I think I might be able to fix it," you said as you jumped down from the vessel.
Runt looked at the vehicle in disgust. "I guess if you really wanted to."
"Are you alright?"
"I don't like Ash Hoppers," Runt said, "they make a lot of noise and they bring nothing but trouble."
"I see."
You could understand what she meant, the only time you had seen this type of vehicle, you had been attacked by raiders shortly after. However considering the scavenging nature of the raiders, you had to wonder who had previously owned such a machine. Even with that thought you had to admit that this Ash Hopper was fascinating.
"Let's go!" Runt said as she resumed her walking.
"Oh, okay."
Following your host, you resumed your walk back to the lair.
The two of you stood in the cooking alcove with the papery sphere sitting on the table. Inside the room were a few nets carrying zebra roots, fuzzy apples as well as a strange fruit consisting of various blue pods, which Runt referred to as screech berry. There were also some shelves holding scavenged dishes with a group of bottles containing water in the corner.
Runt stood nearby looking really excited.
“Are you ready for a yummy treat?” Runt asked, her mouth watering.
“Uh, sure.”
With a smile on her lips, Runt grabbed the sphere with her teeth and pulled, tearing the gray orb open, revealing what was inside. Much to your disgust you saw numerous grabs wriggling around inside. Their black chitinous heads attached to a pale tan body.
Picking up one of the grubs, Runt bite off the grub’s head, a milky slime squirting from the body. After chewing on the grub’s head for a few seconds, Runt threw the rest of its body into her mouth.
“Yummy!” Runt declared happily.
Just seeing this made your stomach churn. “I’m not sure I’d say that.”
Runt looked at you with a confused expression before her eyes opened wide with an epiphany.
“Oh, that’s right, I heard that some of you ponies have weak stomachs,” Runt said, “perhaps I can cook something up for you, little pet.”
“I would appreciate that,” you said as you stepped out of the makeshift kitchen.
Stepping into the main living area, you looked around the room at the numerous wires and machines that were hooked up. Seeing the flickering lights, you decided it might be good to try to fix up the wiring. Taking off your suit, you pulled out your equipment and started working.
After ten minutes of tracing the wires and adjusting them you were able to fix the lights, the Hearth’s Warming themed lights staying on.
“There we go.” You said, as you whipped sweat from your brow.
Looking up around the sitting area, you spotted the monitors hanging from the ceiling.
“Why don’t I go ahead and give those a look.”
Examining the wires, it was clear that the monitors had power, but since there weren’t any devices linked up to them, when the screens were turned on only static appeared. Seeing this you let out an annoyed sigh.
“I doubt there is anything like that that could still function in this world.”
Indeed, more than likely most of the computers in this world were either damaged, destroyed or probably kept secret by anypony who knew how to use them. As you considered this, you realized you knew of something that might work.
“My Hoof-pilot!”
Bringing the suit over, you took some of the wires from the monitors and attached them to your Hoof-pilot. As you worked on your little project, a fragrant scent drew near.
“Whatcha working on, pet?” Runt asked.
Looking up from your suit, you saw Runt setting a platter with two bowls of soup on the central table.
“Oh, I was hooking up my suit to your monitors to see if anything would appear,” you explained.
Runt blinked a few times before shrugging.
“Well, that’s cool I suppose,” Runt said, “personally I just moved them here because I thought they looked pretty.”
That… wasn’t all that surprising considering the type of pony Runt was. Still it might be interesting to see what might happen once you finished setting things up. Sniffing the air, that delicious aroma filled your nostrils once more.
“That smells nice,” you said, licking your lips.
“Well, thank you,” Runt said, “I hope you like it, my little pet.”
Standing up, you walked back over to the table and examined the contents of the bowls. It was a creamy, yellow soup with chopped up zebra root inside. It at least looked and smelled more appetizing than the grubs from earlier. You didn’t see any spoons on the table, which shocked you for a brief moment.
Runt then proceeded to take one of the bowls before sitting down, holding the bowl with her hooves and drinking its contents.
Taking the remaining bowl, you sat down on your bean bag and began to drink from it like your host. The soup was warm and savory, the creamy treat moving smoothly down your throat.
“What’s that?” Runt said, pointing to your cutie mark. You then realized that you hadn’t taken your suit off before on the surface until now and this was probably the first time Runt had seen your full body before. Admittedly… this was a little bit awkward.
“Oh, uh, this is my cutie mark,” you answered, “this symbolizes my special talent.”
“Okay, how do you get one?”
As Runt asked this, you realized that she was lacking a cutie mark herself. Seeing this you weren’t too sure how to explain it.
“It just kind of shows up after you learn your special talent,” you answered.
Runt raised an eyebrow at you questioningly. “Okay…”
Yeah, this was not something you were prepared to explain. If Blue Cheese was here, she would probably be able to explain how cutie marks worked to Runt. That was of course, assuming that Runt or any raiders in the area hadn’t tried killing Blue as soon as she entered the wasteland.
You decided to try to change the topic.
“So you mentioned that there were a couple towns nearby,” you said, “would it be possible to visit one of them?”
Runt gave an irritated expression. “If you want to go, you can.”
“You wouldn’t want to come along?”
“No.” Runt shook her head.
“Why not?”
Runt looked down at her empty bowl, her expression becoming sullen. “Because nopony wants me there.”
Hearing this, you felt a little sad for Runt. Here she lived in her princess fantasy and you hadn’t considered why. Perhaps it was because here, Runt could actually feel accepted by her subjects as imaginary as they might be.
You were about to apologize when suddenly some blue lights caught both you and Runt’s attention. After a second, you realized it was coming from the monitors that were linked up to your suit. Looking up at the screens you saw that they were blue with the green symbol of an eye in the center.
‘Hello.’ A familiar voice came over the speakers.
“Oracle?” you asked.
Runt looked confused. “Uh, who?”
The screens blinked a few times as Oracle spoke. ‘Yes, it is me. While I’ve been having some difficulties, I did manage to find the location of some other ponies for you, if you’re still interested.’
A part of you cringed at this, considering the discussion Runt and you had just had. Looking back over at Runt you saw a depressed look on her face.
“P-pet, who is this?” Runt asked, her mood turning sour.
‘It is... complicated,’ Oracle said, ‘most ponies refer to me as Oracle, though I don’t typically talk with many of them. As of right now I have uploaded myself into his Hoof-pilot.’
Judging from Runt's expression she still wasn't pleased with Oracle's answer.
'Sir, if the timing is inconvenient, I can update your Hoof-pilot with the coordinates you were asking for.'
"Y-yes, that will be fine," you replied, "thank you."
After a few more blinks the eye disappeared and the screens returned to static. The room was silent with Oracle's absence. Runt would be the first to break the silence.
"So, you're leaving," Runt said, her words seemed heavy.
You let out a reluctant sigh. "At some point, yes."
"Why?"
Hearing Runt's question, you pondered the matter. Why did you want to leave? It wasn't like this place was bad, you had a friend who had protected you in this alien world, a shelter and even food. So why did you want to leave?
You shrugged. "I guess I just want to see if there are any others like me left in this world."
Even as you said this, you could feel Runt's piercing gaze upon you. With a harrumph, Runt looked away.
"Fine, whatever!"
You stood outside the entrance to Runt's lair, your suit fully donned, your helmet in place. Your saddlebags stocked and secured.
Despite her bad mood, Runt had been gracious enough to give you a decent supply of zebra roots, furry apples and a few bottles of water.
Examining your hud, you saw an icon resembling an eye on your compass, indicating the first coordinate Oracle had given you.
Looking out across the landscape of ash and ruined buildings, you felt your heart ache at your lost companionship. Yet you knew that you needed to do this. In this mysterious world you wanted answers.
"Maybe someday I will return."
Assuming that Runt didn't want to kill you upon your return.
'I will mark this location for future reference,' Oracle said through your helmet.
As reassuring as that was, you still felt bad for leaving. After taking a deep breath, you began to walk into the wasteland.
After taking a few steps a familiar voice called out from behind you. "Hey pet, you forgot something!"
Turning around, your vision was obscured as a piece of thick fabric covered your head. Pulling the cloth off your face, you realized that it was a makeshift cloak made of brown fabric.
Looking up, you saw Runt walking toward you, her body covered with a similar garment.
"Runt, what are you doing here?" you asked.
A toothy grin graced Runt's lips as she drew near.
"As of right now you are still my pet," Runt declared, "and as long as you are one of my subjects, I will do everything in my power to take care of you."
While Runt stood there giving you a proud, toothy grin, you could see a slight shade of pink on her cheeks. A part of you was tempted to tease her about it, like how she would tease you by calling you pet, however at the time you were just happy that she was coming along with you.
"Thank you," you said, as you pulled your cloak over your environmental suit.
"Now lead on, pet." Runt motioned with a hoof.
With a smile, you looked at the compass on your hud and began to walk, the two of you setting out into vast wasteland.
The air in the cafe, between Amble and you was strangely tense and you weren't too sure why?
You remembered hearing about Tricorn Pharmaceuticals. Apparently it was a fairly large medical drug company that had mysteriously gone bankrupt like three years ago.
"I am aware of them," you answered Amble's question.
Amble nodded. "Recently in my efforts to create the sanctuary, I have uncovered that the company, well while it was still functioning, had been performing unorthodox experiments on monsters and ponies with abnormal traits. While they are no longer functional there are still ponies out there that are suffering from their treatments."
You recalled things that both Jagged Nibble and Irisa had told you. About the white rooms. Your blood boiled at the thought that such a company existed.
"That's terrible," you muttered, your stomach churning with anger.
Amble's expression changed from one of concern to that of sadness.
"Yes, it is an atrocity that will take time to mend."
Even as Amble spoke, you felt that she was trying to be careful with her words, as if there was something else that was bothering her.
"Well, once your sanctuary is up and running, the victims will have a place to heal."
Amble nodded, but remained quiet for a brief moment.
"Unfortunately there's more," Amble said, "we did some research on those who worked at Tricorn around the time it disbanded."
Reaching into her saddlebags, Amble pulled forth a manilla folder and placed it in front of you. Opening the folder you saw a photograph with the image of a familiar unicorn stallion with a tan coat and brown mane. His blue eyes framed by the glasses he was wearing. A professional smile on his lips.
Upon seeing the photo, your heart froze.
"It would seem that your brother was one of them."