Let’s review.
I’ve been given jobs to do by a mare holding both my stuff and my Stable’s future hostage. I’m heading into the swamps bordering Nighttown to meet with some huge dangerous guy for that mare. My guide is crazy, and I may have just destroyed a stallion’s eye with a water gun.
… All in all, a hell of a story to tell when I get home.
Although maybe I’ll skip the story about that stallion, Searchlight. I feel sick just thinking about what I did, even if he was being really nasty.
The wasteland is… not quite what I was expecting.
I’m pulled from my thoughts by Icy hissing for me to stop. We’ve been walking through dense shrubs for a while now, not a path in sight. I’d mostly just been keeping close behind the zebra-pony mare, mulling over my thoughts.
As we stop, I lower myself a little, glancing around.
“Any reason why we’re stopping?” I ask, quietly. She doesn’t respond, gesturing for me to step up next to her. I quickly do, and realise we’re finally deep in. A swampy lake stretches out on either side of us, about a foot down from the edge we’re standing on.
The lake itself is about ten feet wide, and the water is deep and murky. Glancing off to our right, I can see a rickety-looking bridge made of planks crossing the gap, thin supports holding it up, disappearing beneath the water.
Directly above us, I can see the clear night sky through the gap in the trees, and ahead of us… Well, I was expecting deep, inky blackness, but I can see quite a lot… due to a brightly coloured neon glow. Several trees I can see have transparent parts, lit from within like the sign back at Nighttown’s bar.
One of the trees is on the edge of the lake across from us, and where its roots touch the water, there’s a few inches of bright, glowing, swirling colour. Icy nudges my side.
“Try not to drink any water that looks like that.” She murmurs, nodding toward the bridge off to our right.
“C’mon.”
We move quietly along the edge of the lake. I can’t be sure why we’re being so sneaky, especially considering how brightly we’re lit up by the neon trees. But I keep my mouth shut, creeping quietly behind Icy. The water beneath us is murky, but I feel I can see something beneath it, moving slowly…
Suddenly, my hoof catches on an exposed root. I yell in surprise, almost tumbling aside into the water; I feel Icy grab my ponytail from behind, causing me to yell in pain. I’m yanked back onto my hooves, just as a pair of eyes slip out of the water, and right below them… just… so many teeth…
Icy curses loudly, bolting onto the bridge, which creaks and groans beneath her.
“Run!” She barks, galloping across. I nod, quickly diving after her, just as the thing in the water begins to climb out onto the shoreline. The last thing I see is a horrible, scaled hand, almost like a dragon’s talon, grabbing onto a root. I hear water shifting behind me, but I’m too scared to look back. Icy’s crossed the bridge now, and she’s still going into the trees.
It’s only as I get halfway across the bridge that something extremely bad happens. Whatever treatment I got back at Downpour’s mustn’t have been amazing, because as I slam my hoof down halfway across the bridge, something… splits. I feel a pinch, then stabbing, agonising pain as the stitches holding me shut break open.
I can’t even muster up the energy to scream. My entire body simply gives up, my legs crumpling beneath me as I land, the entire rickety bridge shaking under my weight.
Tears come to my eyes as I limply try and drag myself forward. Whatever monster is chasing me is gonna kill me! Whatever this thing is, it’s, it’s…
It’s stopped. I can hear it breathing slowly behind me. Icy is nowhere to be found. Maybe… Maybe I can try and reason with it. Slowly, I roll to my side, whimpering in pain as I feel blood seeping out of the edges of my bandages.
Everything hurts. I don’t know if I’ll die, but I definitely won’t be able to move for a while.
Finally, I’m able to see what was chasing me.
… It’s hard to fully comprehend at first glance.
Whatever it is seems to be an alligator, sort of. It’s been a while since I looked at the library records of the local fauna, but I can at least recognise the scales and the teeth at a glance.
She has a long snout, and is covered in muddy brown scales, with muscular forearms ending in razor-sharp talons. Her mouth is closed, but I can see several thick, pointed teeth poking out either side of her jaw. A thick, heavy tail drags behind her.
But… she’s also got pony attributes. She has a shock of red hair, messy and dripping wet. She has wide, excited eyes, and a ponylike head. She has pair of pony-coloured, furred hind legs-- she even has a cutiemark! A teddy bear.
She’s also… very small. If I was standing, she’d probably only come up to my chest.
Suddenly, she jolts forward, and I flinch, my horn sparking as I try to build up the focus to draw my soaker and scare her off.
But it’s all in vain, and she’s soon only inches away, reaching for me… I wait for her to slash me to shreds, but instead… she grabs my forehoof, eagerly shaking it; and my body, causing me to yelp in pain. When she speaks, it’s with a thick southern-ish accent.
“Well a howdy do, and an ‘AAAGH!’ to you too, missy!” She chirps, releasing my hoof, which limply falls to the ground. I stare up at her, too baffled to reply.
“Hm, seems yer in need of some help, huh? Why’d Icy have to go and leave ya like this? She sure is pretty rude, isn’t she.” The mare grabs my hoof again, and I respond with another yelp in pain.
“Is that just how yer stable communicates or somethin’? Can. You. Under. Stand. What. I’m. Saying?” She asks, voice rising in volume with each word, as she slings my hoof over her shoulder, helping me stand and slowly dragging me forward.
“... Y-yeah.” I manage. I don’t know if I’m still bleeding or if I’ve just gone numb, but my entire body is… tingly, and distant. My vision is swimming, my head is spinning.
“Hmm, yer probably gonna die, that’s a shame. Death Roll really likes stable horses. Ahh, dangit.” She sighs. My tongue is limp in my mouth, my jaw creaking as I try to speak. She can’t just leave me here! I can’t die like this!
… She’s speaking again, but a ringing in my ears is growing too loud to ignore. My eyelids droop, and her voice fades into silence as the world around me goes dark.
“Dad, what happens when we die?”
“We lay ponies to rest outside of the vault, just up the mountain a ways.”
“No, like… When we die, what happens to our… us? Like, our memories? Our thoughts?”
“... I don’t really know, sweetheart. Are you sure you wanna talk to an old mechanic about this? I know engines better than I know souls.”
“I dunno, mom doesn’t really talk to me like you do, dad. And everyone else just thinks I’m a dumb kid.”
“Hey, hey, you’re not just a dumb kid. You’re my dumb kid. And if I have my way, you’re not dying any time soon, so you got plenty of time to think about it.”
Boy, everything sure does hurt.
Is this what death is like?
Mom always used to say “everything sucks and then you die”, but if everything sucks after you die, is there even a point?
… Wait, I can hear Icy. She’s shouting at someone. Did she die too?
My head is spinning, and I feel like I’m in a tumble-dryer, being jostled around like mad.
Suddenly Icy stops shouting. I hear her yelling at someone else, and there’s a few moments of silence. Suddenly I can swear I hear her apologising for something--
Something jolts through my body.
My veins are on fire. My heart is pounding. My eyes snap open, dry and stinging.
Someone is screaming.
… Oh, that’s me. But I can’t stop. My throat is burning from the pain-- Suddenly something is stuffed in my mouth, a piece of leather, that I gladly chew down on, still screaming. As I begin to blink, my eyes begin to focus.
The trees are dense above us. A lantern is flickering, hanging directly above me from a rope tied between two trees. I can vaguely make out a tent off to the side, and judging by the softness underneath me, I’m on a sleeping bag, or something else soft.
I’m finally able to stop screaming, but my heart is still pounding. My eyes focus on Icy, straddling my waist as she sits atop me, glaring determinedly into my eyes. The alligator pony is sitting off to the side, rummaging in a doctor’s bag.
Icy scowls, and grabs something on my chest- I briefly see a large syringe sticking out of me before it’s yanked away, and I let out a gasp of air I didn’t realise I’d been holding in. My heartbeat won’t slow down, it’s agonising!
… But my side isn’t hurting. I have no idea why, I can’t see much past Icy’s thighs. She places a hoof on my chest, glaring into my eyes.
“Okay, there. You happy, Bite? Wasted good medicine and a proper poultice on her. You better pay up.” She barks.
“Of course, of course!” The alligator mare rolls her eyes.
“W-... W…” I try to speak, coughing hoarsely.
“Wait, you’re not… saving me… because you’re my… my guide?” I manage. The mare rolls her eyes, patting my cheek.
“I’m your guide, not your doctor. Grow up. Bite here felt guilty for being the one to get you outta commission in the first place, I guess.” She snickers, finally getting off me and stepping over to the tent.
“We’re resting for ten minutes to make sure you don’t go passing out again, but then we’re picking up the pace again! We just lost two hours, stablemare.” Icy calls, glaring back at me before ducking into the tent, disappearing.
In the silence that follows, I slowly sit up. My heart is pounding in my chest still, feeling like it might burst out any second. I look around, seeing a doctor’s bag next to me, all kinds of tools and containers strewn about it. A large empty syringe sits next to it, which I pick up to investigate. The label is long torn away, but I think I remember something like these in the infirmary of the stable-- They were big adrenaline shots of magic-enhanced medicine you’d give to ponies if their hearts stopped.
My hooves trail along my body, coming to rest on my side- It’s tender, and slightly wet with sweat, but I don’t feel my own insides, so that’s probably good. I glance down, and am shocked to see pretty much no sign that I was ever hanging open, save for a faint scar along my side. Suddenly a clawed hand slides into my view, touching my side, making me jump.
It’s that alligator-pony. Her touch is cold and slimy, yet careful. I glance at her, frowning a little.
She owes Icy money for my life. What’s she playing at? Is she genuine, or is she gonna ask me to do stuff, too?
“... Do you have a name?” I ask, carefully. The mare nods, pulling her hand away with a grin and posing dramatically.
“Bite Strength, future queen of the swamps!” She declares, cheerfully.
“Queen… wh-” Before I can finish my sentence, she interrupts, slamming her talons down on the swamp floor.
“Tell me EVERYTHING about your stable! Right now!” She chirps, eagerly.
“What was the experiment? Did you guys stay sane, or are you the only one left? Tell me tell me!” She bounces up and down excitedly. I’m overwhelmed, trying to figure out what she’s saying. Experiment? Wha-
“Oh wait, you wanna know about the queen thing.” She interrupts even my thoughts, continuing to talk excitedly.
“Welllll, my big bro is kinda a big jerk, so I wanna kill him and rule these swamps with an iron talon!” She punches her fist, then looks down at both of her clawed hands.
“... Well, scaled talon. But y’know, nicely.”
“Excuse me, you want to kill your brother?” I blurt out, finally getting a word in edgewise. I know of some sibling pairs back in the stable, and they could get heated, but I’d never known any to be murderous.
Bite Strength huffs irritably, crossing her forelegs.
“Yeah, Death Roll. He’s a jerk. And I’m gonna kill him some day!” She cheers, clapping her talons. I… am thoroughly uncomfortable at this point, before the name registers in my mind.
“Wait, I’m supposed to meet him. He’s… not gonna want to kill me for talking to you or anything, is he?” I ask, nervously. I remember old drama flicks back in the stable about zebras talked about all that weird honour-bound stuff. Talk to the wrong pony, and you might just end up in hot water with someone else. The gator snorts.
“Naw. Only if you wanna try and do naughty stuff with me, he’s very firm about me being with a pure stallion to make pure babies with. Or something.” She rolls her eyes.
Before I can press further, Icy is back. She steps out of her tent, kicking out one of the supports. The entire thing snaps shut firmly, in a tight ball, which she stuffs into her pack. It doesn’t look like the whole thing would fit, but somehow it does… Then the thing is slung over her shoulder, and she steps over, glaring down at me.
“Okay, that should be long enough. Get up, we’re moving.” She gestures to my jacket and my soaker sitting nearby, neatly stacked on a treestump.
“It’s definitely not been ten minutes already.” I groan, shakily standing. Icy shakes her head.
“Not in the slightest, stablemare. But we’re on the clock, and the longer we wait out here, the more dangerous it gets for us. I want us at Death Roll’s compound before sun-up.” She barks. Bite grins toothily, bouncing up and down between us.
“Come now, stripeyhorse, you know it- urk!” She chokes as Icy jabs a hoof into her chest, looming over the short gator. When Icy speaks, it’s in a low hiss, barely audible over the sounds of the swamp around us.
“I’ve told you not to call me that, Bite. Now go away. We’re moving, now.” She turns, storming away. I quickly throw my jacket on, glancing back at the alligator-mare. I bow my head quickly.
“... thank you. Erm… Good luck killing your brother, I guess.”
With that, I’m gone, quickly skittering after my guide. Something about her seems so different all of a sudden… She at least had some sort of charm about her earlier, but now she just seems so angry.
… And why did I wish that mare luck killing someone?
The next hour or so of trudging through the swamp is filled with an uneasy silence. As we walk, the trees have only gotten stranger, twisting and looping around themselves, more and more glass trees dotting the shorelines around us. We’ve crossed several more bridges, keeping our noises to a minimum.
The strange neon water swirls beneath us, growing denser and denser as we get deeper into the swamps. Several times I swear I can see a pair of eyes watching from beneath the water, but I try not to think about it.
As we cross our seventh rickety bridge in as many minutes, I decide to finally speak up.
“... Why did you run?” I ask. Icy stops, and as she glances back, I have to force myself not to flinch at the hostility in her eyes.
“I didn’t want to deal with Bite. I know she lingers around the ways into the swamp trying to ‘make friends’ and gather a group to kill her brother. She’s a headache.”
“... Wait, what? You almost let me die because of an annoying pony?” I stop, angry despite myself.
“What kind of guide are you? Actually, why are you even guiding me, anyway?” I take a few steps back, hours of internal conflict finally bubbling to the surface, my voice growing louder and louder.
“You haven’t even gotten a payment yet, you were willing to let me die, is this a trap or something?” I’m shouting now. My horn sparks, ready to reach for my soaker…
“I’m not gonna let you lead me on for days being all coy about what you really want, so tell me right now or I walk.” I don’t know how I’m managing to be so confident here. My heart is pounding, either with adrenaline or an impending panic attack.
Icy turns, and I once again have to force myself not to quail under her glare. She holds her gaze for several moments, before her expression softens somewhat, once again into a more casual smirk.
“I’m the kind of guide who does my own thing for my own entertainment. If you die, you die. I’m not gonna go out of my way to avoid that.” She licks her lips, watching me closely. Her eyes flick to my soaker.
She calmly approaches me. I can feel the bridge beneath our hooves rattle with each step. The barrel of her revolver, stuffed into her coat, catches on the neon trees around us. She keeps her calm smirk as she continues.
“You can shoot me and run, you can walk off on your own way, you can jump in the river and die right now. I don’t care, I’ll head back to the bar and find another moron to follow to their death. Or you can grow up, be a big mare, and stay with your only chance of survival.”
“You just said you’ll let me die if it comes to it!” I respond, trying my hardest not to let her intimidate me. If I take a step back, she wins.
“Oh, I will. But I’ll also show you the only safe way through here. Because if you make it to Death Roll and he actually lets you out alive and untouched, that’ll be a hell of a story, stablemare.” Her voice is lowered to a hiss now.
… I don’t know what to do. I can prove this crazy pony right and let her think she’s actually winning in some sick game of manipulation, or…
My soaker is out before I’ve even realised it, and a sharp stream of water cuts through the two feet of space between us-- right through Icy’s leg. I don’t stay long enough to let her respond, spinning on my hoof and bolting through the trees. There’s no scream of pain, no psychotic laugh like from the movies, no gunfire chasing me. Only the sound of blood rushing to my head and my heart pounding in my ears as I dart through the trees.
Over rickety bridges, past glowing trees, through cutting shrubbery and over exposed tree roots. I don’t know how long I’ve been running, but by the time I skid to a halt, I realise just how lost I’ve just made myself. Trying to quell my panic, I put my hoof down, take a deep breath, and try to orient myself. I’m not going to shout for help, I’m not going to go back to Icy. She can go right back to that bar and rot for all I care.
My stable needs me. I’m not gonna let this slow me down.
… I shot her in the leg. Right THROUGH her leg. She might be seriously hurt, she might die…
No. No, I’m not feeling sorry for her. She wouldn’t do the same for me. She’s… She’s probably gonna be fine, anyway. She’s some big tough crazy psychopath.
I nod to myself, sufficiently satisfied as I turn and begin walking through the dense foliage around me. If I can just find more of those bridges, surely they’ll either lead out of the swamp, or to this Death Roll pony. Either way, I win. If I get out of the swamp, maybe I can just find a guide who isn’t insane.
And so my walk begins. I find myself dwelling on Icy as I creep through the swamps, hoping I don’t see her again. What was with her, anyway? A weird zebra-pony hybrid guide who doesn’t care if she gets paid for her work? What kind of a place could someone like that even come from?
My mind wanders as I walk, trying to remember what I learned about zebras back in the stable. There’s… not a whole lot. Most of it was classified for the Overseer, and what little I got was just talking about how bad they were for Equestria, and how they all wanted us dead-- or really dry and boring explanations of how their tribes worked.
Mom always got mad whenever I’d bring it up, and dad didn’t like talking about zebras, so I never really had any idea what to think. And then the first person I meet with any zebra in them is crazy.
… although, considering all the crazy ponies I’ve met out here, maybe it’s the pony half making her crazy. I feel kinda stupid for even considering it’s the zebra part doing that, I don’t even know for sure what they’re like in the wasteland! Some old boring government documents from two-hundred years ago surely can’t be a fair way to judge how they are now.
A noise catches my attention, pulling me from my reverie. I quickly duck aside, trying to place what I’d heard. It was like… a faint yell, a cry from deeper in the swamps… There it is again! It… it sounds like someone in need of help! I quickly skitter to my hooves, darting in the direction of the sound. If it’s someone who needs help, I need to be there for them. I’m not Icy.
… plus being alone is starting to make me nervous.
The cries continue as I charge further into the underbrush. Yelling and shouting, whooping and cheering, and… The closer I get, the more I realise it doesn’t really sound like cries of distress. I stop just short of a clearing in the trees, hiding out of sight behind some bushes. In the middle of the clearing, I can see…
Zebras!
… that’s weird timing.
Three zebras, all cheering triumphantly over a crumpled form between them. Two stallions and a mare, and in the middle… My stomach turns as I see Bite Strength! The alligator mare has a wound in her side, and has one of her talons pinned down by what appears to be a large staple digging into the ground. The three zebras seem overjoyed with their catch, and before I can stop to think, I’m on my hooves and charging toward them, soaker drawn.
“Get away from her!” I shout, skidding to a halt a few feet away from the three, who abruptly stop and turn to look at me, confused looks on their faces.
“A stable-dweller.” The mare whispers. The larger of the two stallions snorts as he glances at my soaker.
“Armed about as well as you’d expect, too.” He quips. He has an odd accent, like a weird combination of Bite’s southern and something… else. I point my soaker at him, trying to ignore my growing panic as I realise how outnumbered I am.
“This isn’t a toy, buddy! … well, not any more. Get away from Bite Strength right now or you’ll see how it feels!” I shout, voice shaking as I finish. The zebras glance between each other, then down at Bite.
“Friend of yours?” The smaller stallion asks. Bite nods.
“Yup! Saved her life earlier, she’s a little dumb in the head.” The mare taps one of her temples, grinning excitedly.
“Ah, I see.” The mare turns to me, and smiles.
“Do not worry, Stabledweller. This is not a real hunt, just a… test, of sorts, for my two protegees.” She gestures to the two stallions behind her, who are next to Bite. The smaller of the two is yanking the staple off of her talon, and the larger one is smearing some weird goo all over Bite’s stomach-wound.
“I… what?” I’m definitely off-balance now, and my panic begins to shift more toward embarrassment. The zebra mare nods, chuckling lightly.
“Yes. Our home is regularly laid siege to by her brother’s children, and in her benevolence, Bite offered herself as combat practice for my guards. She has been… remarkably effective as a teaching tool.”
Finally, I get a proper look at the three of them. The mare, now that I’m looking closer at her, is very clearly old. Probably sixties or so. She has a huge mane of curly, faintly purple hair framing her head, with flowers and vines braided through it. She has a long, slender tail with a tuft of curly hair at the end, and the stripes covering her body are broken up with faint scars and scratches.
The stallions with her are far younger, closer to my age. The larger of the two has a messy mohawk, and an oddly kind, rugged face. The smaller stallion has a messy beard and short, curly hair, and one of his legs seems to be made out of… metal. Not salvaged metal, either, it’s really smooth and polished. The both step next to the mare, bowing deeply, and I awkwardly bow back.
“Erm, I… Uh. Sorry.” I manage, meekly. The three laugh, the larger stallion approaching and patting me on the head, messing up my hair.
“Not a worry, Stablemare. Do you have a name?” He asks. I nod, slipping my soaker back into my jacket and lighting my horn to straighten my hair.
“Seven-Ten Split.” I say, with a quick nod. There’s an odd silence for a moment as the three zebras glance at one another, but it’s soon broken as the mare steps forward.
“Interesting… I am The Way, and my companions, Heartbeat and Traverse.” She gestures to the tall stallion and short stallion, respectively.
“You are a friend of our friend. If she trusts you, then we will offer you the same. Would you care to accompany us back to our home? You may stay the day with us, until the sun rises and you may explore the swamps in safety… You would not do well to be out here during the day.” She warns.
… Daylight is unsafe? That must be why Icy was trying to hurry us along.
I glance at Bite, who is up and unhurt, wound completely gone. Seems they were being honest, and fixed her up pretty well, all things considered. Deciding I’m probably safer with a group, I nod. Probably a good excuse to learn about zebras, too...
“... Alright, sure. I, uh… Just lost my guide, so any help is appreciated. I-I can pay, too.” I stammer. The mare chuckles, shaking her head.
“You do not seem the wealthy type. Simply pull your weight with us, and we will offer you shelter for the day. Any longer, well… I am sure you understand that we cannot spend too many resources on an outsider, yes?”
… Yeah, that’s… fair. The stable is the same, supposedly. Back in the day, apparently we’d let in ponies from out in the wastes if they could help us, maybe this mare knows something about that?
“U-understood. Lead the way.” I gesture for the mare to lead, and she nods, glancing at Bite Strength as she turns to leave.
“Your payment will be delivered to the usual place.”
With that, the alligator mare nods, gives me a big, toothy grin, then darts away, disappearing through the trees. With one last glance to make sure I’m following, she sets off, letting me follow behind, flanked by the two zebra stallions.
… I should still stay on guard, even if they’re being nice… This wasteland has been absolutely crazy so far, and I doubt the species who started this whole thing have been untouched by that… I’ll be careful.
“Mom, what does family mean?”
“... Why are you asking me that?”
“True Shot down the hall says we aren’t a real family because I don’t have a brother like her.”
“Tell you what; next time True Shot says that, tell her her mother actually had her brother with Highbrow from the engineering sector, that’ll shut her up.”
“Okay! Wait… You didn’t answer my question!”
“Because it’s not important. Family is whatever you make it, Split. Doesn’t matter how many brothers, sisters, fathers, or mothers you got. Family is family.”
“Can the whole Stable be my family?”
“... Sure. Just keep your family close to your heart, and keep it safe, and it’ll always be there for you. I promise.”