//------------------------------//
// 10 - Trigger 
// Story: Fallout Equestria: An Honest Soul 
// by _STELLAR 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 10: Trigger

Zulu and I entered Fetchway with a wagon full of brewster wolves dragged behind me, with Atterclop nibbling on the corpse of the freshest wolf. I was wearing Zulu's cloak over my head and body, partly to hide my hat, which was currently pinned between my body and my saddlebags, but also to hide my face. I couldn't risk anyone identifying me.

We were granted access to the town freely by Dice and Roll, the two guard ponies in charge of the entrance, as our repetitive trips through Fetchway taught them that even though the infamous Zulu was by my side, we weren't here to cause any trouble.

It was dark out, and there was the tease of a light drizzle from the pegasi's ever-present cloudlayer. We knew Fetchway's part-time Butcher/part-time Chef was still awake, as for the past three days we had been delivering brewster wolves to him in exchange for caps - same time each night.

Before Zulu and I left R7, Cuff, after Zulu told her we needed to give our future tracker something to smell for reference, had given me an unwashed spare jumpsuit that belonged to Brandy. How or why she had it, she wouldn't say, but regardless, it was the key that Atterclop needed to help us find Brandy. Yet in three days of work, we had nothing but dead wolves to show for our efforts.

Still, brewster wolves are no match for a good revolver at your side, especially when you have S.A.T.S., so we were relatively safe in our search in the Double Eff. We didn't actively seek the brewster wolves of course, but they would usually attack if they saw us. Fortunately for us, their meat was one of the reasons Fetchway was able to thrive when it was founded, and was still considered valuable, as selling the brewster wolf meat to other settlements and anyone who was eager to buy it was still common practice.

Personally, I never touched the stuff, but apparently it was tasty. Regardless, the town Butcher was all too happy to take them off our hooves, and had plenty of caps to give us. 

I dropped the wagon off to the back of the butchershop and walked around to knock on the front door before entering. As per usual, the Butcher was sitting in his chair behind the counter, reading a book. By now, he had learned that this was going to become a nightly thing.

"Mister Cassidy," I greeted the Butcher kindly, yet quietly, as though there were newborn foals sleeping nearby. "Five wolves, minus one leg; my spider was a bit peckish on the way here."

Mister Cassidy looked up from his book, and stretched. The gryphon was, poetically, a rather butch individual, with a bright yellow coat of feathers. "No luck finding the scent then?" And his voice was appropriately as butch as his appearance.

"Nothing," I replied with a dejected sigh. "Are you still willing to trade the wolves for caps? I wouldn't want to trade you out of all your money."

"Nonsense," Cassidy chuckled. "Business has never been better, my boy. So few people are willing to hunt those beasts these days. Seems everyone's gone soft. Even the other gryphons around here seem hesitant to get their claws dirty."

"Well you can count on me," I smiled somberly at the Butcher. "Stubbornness runs in my family, and with such stubbornness comes undying determination. So my mother told me." Despite myself, I found myself sighing at my own pretentiousness. "And yet, it breaks my heart to say it, but… I'm losing hope, Mister Cassidy. Three days and nothing. After all this time, he could be dead."

"Now stop that talk, Applebuck! You'll find your friend, just you wait. And if you ever need the funds to start a search party, just keep those wolves coming my way. Things'll turn out alright in the end, just you wait."

"Thanks, Mister Cassidy." I smiled again, this time a little more sincerely, and he took the awkward silence as an opportunity to collect the wolves from behind the butchershop.

Zulu, who constantly stood close by my side whenever we were in Fetchway, never spoke a word, as per usual in our meetings with Mister Cassidy. He knew Fetchway didn't like him, but he knew people not seeing my face was more important than them not seeing his, so he at least permitted me to hide under his cloak. 

After a few minutes, Mister Cassidy returned with a bagful of caps, placing it on the counter, then double checking the amount within. After he was finished and satisfied with the amount, I also opened the bag to check for myself if payment was right. He knew I trusted him, but I wanted to be certain I wasn't going to overcharge him. I'm glad I did, as he gave me the caps for five wolves. I placed twenty caps on the counter.

"Five wolves, minus one leg," I said.

He waved me off. "Keep 'em. You're having a rough time. And anyway, if it comes down to a search party, you'll need every cap you can get. Those caps are more important to you than they are to me."

I sighed through a smile. "You know you're gonna go broke if we keep this up?"

"Eh. I've got talismans in the freezers that can preserve the meat for a long time. When they sell, I'll have made a handsome profit indeed." He looked rather proud of himself at the thought of his long-term financial gain.

Satisfied, we said our goodbyes and swiftly left Fetchway without any distractions.


***


Atterclop was happy to comb the forest while Zulu and I stayed in the tent I had recently bought from Fetchway's general store. The tent was ancient, tacky and cold, and if the rain decided to start pouring, we'd be soaked through to our bones. But the fire we had lit outside at least helped with the coldness. Neither of us cared if it attracted any wolves; we'd rather be eaten than be shivering.

Zulu and I sat in the entrance of our tent, having pitched it as close to the fire as we dared. Zulu, who now wore his cloak for added warmth, seemed lost in thought as he simply stared into the fire, flames dancing in the air as they drove away the fog, coldness and darkness of the Double Eff. I called his name, then again, but he was so tranced that he didn't even hear me. Unresponsive to sound, Zulu all but jumped out of his skin when I patted his shoulder, shuffling away from me defensively. When he seemed to have come back down to Equuis, I asked what was on his mind that made him so distracted.

"I fear your hiding is only delaying the inevitable." Oh not this again. I rolled my eyes. "You cannot hide forever, AB. Soon our luck will run out, and someone will find you, and Suki will be in the hooves of Silver Eyes."

"Zulu, I don't care. First, we find Brandy's trail, then we find him. Then once we all go home, I'll deal with the bounty."

Inevitably, Silver Eyes was willing to use any means necessary to find Suki. In a frankly desperate-sounding attempt to achieve his goal, he had placed a ten thousand cap bounty to bring me in alive, and a fifty thousand bounty to turn me in with my trademark stetson - dead or alive. Making sure to give me the least amount of information as possible, Suki assured me that I couldn't just hand her over to Silver in exchange for a professional search party for Brandy. I knew such a trade was unethical, and I would never willingly give up Suki's freedom, but she made it seem like it would be a tactical error to do so, rather than an unkind thing to do. Being informed on why it would be a mistake would be nice to know at least.

"Your bounty is just one problem," said Zulu. "Supposing we kill Silver, and the bounty is lifted, what happens if you find your friend to be dead as well, killed before you even had a chance to help? You need to be open to the possibility that Brandy is gone, AB."

"You need to be open to the possibility that you can shut your mouth!" I snapped, my sudden outburst surprising even myself, though the anger in me didn't let it show.

Zulu showed slight shock for all of half a second before he glared at me. He had already told me that Brandy was probably dead, but I wouldn't accept that possibility until I saw his corpse. Brewster wolves spit out the bones, and the only bones we had managed to find out here were either animal bones, or pony bones that had been here for many, many years.

We spoke no more as we sat by the fire and waited for Atterclop to return. According to my Pip-Buck, she was only gone for about an hour before she crept back into view, emerging from the fog and crawling up to Zulu, trying to avoid the heat of our campfire. As she squeaked to Zulu, he lowered his head to her so he could hear her. After a few nods as she went on, Zulu whispered back to her something in traditional spider-language. Atterclop gave a salute, and scurried off into Zulu's tent.

"What did she say?"

"Uh. S-she… she found a nest of wolves. We'll search it in the morning," Zulu said, not meeting my eyes, or even looking at me.

A blatant lie if ever I heard one. And I wasn't in the mood for lies. "Bullshit. What did she find?"

He sighed. "We're not going anywhere until the morni-"

"What did she find, zeeb!" I was in just as much a mood for patience as I was for liars.

He tensed up, but quickly answered. "S-she found a scent that smelled like raiders. She said she didn't have Brandy's, and that she would rather not attempt to find it due to the stench of raiders. But if we follow the trail, we'll probably find a raider camp. If what your father says is true, in that your friend was separated from the rest of the Security Ponies, then it's possible these raiders could have found him alone and imprisoned him within their camp. But we're not going anywhere until at least sunrise. All three of us need our rest AB, if we are to confront these raiders."

A sense of relief flowed through me. Finally, we had a lead - a raider camp. Wait, a raider camp!? Even if Brandy was alive, he certainly wasn't safe! Not if I knew raiders. And unfortunately, Knife Bite had left quite the impression on us back in Ponyville.

"Hold on a second. My Dad said Silver's ponies killed the raiders. If they're dead, how could they have taken him?"

"Not all raider groups are as few as Knife Bite and her two friends. These ponies are most likely a sizable raider camp, with a small society among them. Silver Eyes would have no need to snuff out a whole raider camp - not unless they got in his way - so his ponies would have stopped after killing the group assaulting the Security Ponies. Believe me when I say that we will not be dealing with just a hoofful of ponies tomorrow, AB."

"So, that's it then? So many raiders would have killed him by now; they're savages. We've failed."

"Not necessarily. There are many reasons why a raider group may want a pony, besides cannibalism, or petty murder. None of which will help you sleep tonight. We will find out in the morning. But rest assured, they may be a slave camp, with several ponies just like Brandy - mistrested, but alive nonetheles."

We said little more that night, and I could barely get to sleep, thinking about the little visit I would pay those raiders tomorrow. For now, I was content with telling myself that Zulu was right, and that the flame of hope was still alight, so I tried to get all the sleep I could manage. Can't kill raiders when you're running on no sleep, right?

Wait, did I really just think that? I felt guilt, realising I had just casually joked about the murder of other ponies. Trading a group of raiders' lives for a single pony? Was that really moral? Even justifiable?

I recalled the Golden Oaks Library, and suddenly my guilt faded.


***


It was still in the early morning when the raider camp was in our sight. We had left the Double Eff from the north side about an hour before arriving at the settlement, which was stationed near several large hills - the sun still hidden behind one, and bathing the camp in shadow. I had been wondering why there was an abandoned college in the middle of nowhere, seemingly meant for no reason in particular, other than for Silver to make his base of operation. I now deduced that what would go on to be Silver HQ must have originally been built for the ponies who had lived in this former town, which must have lied only a twenty minute trot from Silver HQ.

Once, this settlement was a small town, no bigger than Fetchway, but now it was plenty smaller, as many of the houses and other buildings were taken down; their materials and resources repurposed throughout the camp, leaving behind half-built husks of housing and other buildings.

Hiding behind a particularly burnt, black and lifeless pole (I refused to call these abominations 'trees'), Zulu and I gazed at the raider camp from afar while Atterclop nibbled at the base of the not-tree in an attempt to suck out any sap that may have still been in there after two hundred years of ill health. She didn't appear to be very successful, but seemed happy enough just nibbling on the bark anyway.

"What's the plan, AB?" I was proud of Zulu for trying to use contractions in his sentences. I could tell they didn't come naturally to him, based on the emphasis he put on them, so I appreciated the effort. Even more so, I was happy to hear him using my nickname. What did he ask me, again? Oh, a plan!

"Uh… sneak in?"

His facial expression portrayed that he wasn't very happy with my 'plan'. 

"I suggest," he said. "that you get yourself captured. You see those boxes over there?" He pointed near one one of the larger, complete, buildings to a collection of hoof crafted containers made of wood and nails, probably recycled from the disassembled houses. "They're used to contain groups of slaves. Knife Bite and her boyfriends used metal cages, but not all raider camps are lucky enough to have such efficient forms of imprisonment. If they catch you, you will likely be thrown into a box. From there, you will use your unicorn powers to discreetly pry your way out of the box. If Brandy is not in your box, move onto the next one."

"Why don't you come with me?"

He looked at me like I was stupid. "Because I value my continued existence? If you get captured, they'll put you to good use by selling you for a profit. You're a healthy pony; you'll go for a high price on the slave market. But if I get captured, they'll… well… I just can't let that happen." 

Oh yeah. Ponies no like zebras. Why were Surface Dwellers so ignorant? "And besides," he continued. "You don't want your things stolen. You won't get them back. Let me look after your gun and saddlebags while you're in there."

"But what if I need them?"

Zulu opened his mouth to speak, but cut himself off as he gasped sharply. He looked to his flank on the side I couldn't see, then he slumped to the floor without a word. Not sure what to do, I simply shook him, then looked to see what he saw on his flank.

Stun dart.

Not a moment sooner, another dart shot out from nowhere and pierced my neck. I quickly removed it, but it was too late. As dizziness quickly overtook me, panicked set in. I could barely mumble for Atterclop to run away before I fell to the floor, and the already sun-shielded area became completely black.


***


I was sick of it. I was so… fucking sick of it. Being knocked out and waking with groggy eyes. Did this happen to every Wastelander? Like, as frequently as me? 

Much like last time, I awoke with my hooves in chains. No, wait, only my right foreleg - the one where my gun strap used to be - was restrained. It was hoofcuffed to an old, yellowed radiator, complete with disgusting black streaks along the wall coming from where water had leaked centuries ago.

Looking around my new location, I found I was in a room not too dissimilar from Silver Eye's staff room/office. There was a desk in front of me, complete with a chair and drawers built into the desk which probably had ancient paperwork or other office related documents in them. Or more likely rat carcasses, based on the smell in the room.

"Fifty fousand caps." I heard a stallion whistle from the doorway of the office room. The Stallion had a jet black coat and wore spiky raider gear that looked like freaky bondage gear you'd find in a naughty magazine. The creep was also wearing my hat, tipping it at me as he said, "First fing you gotta know about me: I'm the Boss 'round here, Stable Dweller."

I actually rolled my eyes at his pompousness. "First 'fing' I gotta know is I'm dealing with a moron. And let me guess, I'm your slave now? Your little bitch toy until Silver gets here? Yeah, real fuckin' original."

He smiled amusedly, his yellow teeth (what remained of them anyway) on display for my added disgust. As if his stench wasn't enough. "Nah, you're not my type. But my daughter'd love to take a bite of you. She's the one what shot you, ya know. But she's pro'lly distracted with your zebra friend right now."

I strained against my cuffs. "Where is he!" But he simply smiled smugly at me. "I'll kill you if anyone here hurts him! You bastard! Answer me!"

"I don't fink you're in any position to make freats. Now sit tight. Silfer Eyes'll be here soon."

I was wasting my time with this idiot. How long was I even out for? Silver could be here any minute!

"Look, I'm in a really bad mood, raider," I all but spat the word. "but I'm gonna be nice. I'll give you one chance to take that hat off your ugly-ass head, and let me out of these hoofcuffs. You do those two simple things, and I won't break your right forleg. How's that sound?"

He simply scoffed, turning to walk out the door and saying, "I'fe sent a messenger to get Silfer. They'll be back soon, so don't go nowhe-"

*clink*

I focused my magic on my hoofcuff and forced my hoof as quickly and as hard as I could, straining the cuff against the chain and snapping it clean off my fetlock. I'm certain that that amount of force would have normally broken the bone, were it not for my magic protecting my leg. But thanks to my magic, it only broke the cuff. I would still have quite a wicked bruise on that leg, and walking would be painful until I could get a healing potion from my saddlebags, but I wasn't gonna let the raider know that.

Shock registered on his face when he realised the clinking sound was from the cuff snapping, and horror followed as I focused my magic on his neck and squeezed, his face frozen in that same horrified expression as his breath was held by a power he was too ignorant to comprehend.

"Brewster wolves look way deadlier than you. And I've practically been hunting them for sport these past few days. Now, about that foreleg."


***


The raider had passed out before I did anything too dangerous to him. I broke his leg quickly, using my telekinesis, and the shock of that alone knocked him out in a second or two. Thankfully, my hold on his windpipe prevented him any chance to alert anyone of his plight.

Mercifully, I found all of mine and Zulu's gear to be in the office with us, just dumped in a corner by some grimy stains and a suspicious damp spot, so I was able to get myself a healing potion for my bruised leg, and geared up, ready to search the building. Unfortunately, Zulu's stealth cloak was nowhere to be found, which was a significant tactical disadvantage, as sneaking around undetected would be key in such a dangerous place as a raider camp. Not to mention the harsh mood Zulu was bound to be in after I told him we'd lost his second stealth cloak. I hoped he was okay, though I was more realistically hoping for him to still be alive.

Poking my head to peer out of the office, I found a layout not too dissimilar to the Security Ward back home. Prison cells lined the hallway, and after finding a light switch, I peered into the nearest cell, and found they weren't empty. No, these prison cells were quite full. Filled with more ponies than the original ponies who designed the cells had intended.

Every one of those cells were so crowded I felt claustrophobic just looking at them; few ponies could barely even move. Most slaves looked away when I saw them, some looked scared or angry, but a few broke their silence to plead that I free them. I had to silence them as politely as I could, as I knew releasing them now meant compromising my stealth. I'd come back for them later, I told myself. If I could, that is.

"Hey," I whispered to one of the calmer looking slaves, a poor buck whose once blond mane looked more green and dirty now. "I'm looking for a purple earth pony with a black mane? His name is Brandy. If he's not around, then a zebra? He would have just arrived. Did you see anyone take him anywhere?"

The slave made eye contact for just a fraction of a second before he decided staring at the ground in front of me was better than even talking to me. He seemed so on the verge of tears just because he had to face the misfortune of being questioned by a free pony.

Understanding I probably wouldn't get any answers from any these ponies, I pressed on. As much as I wanted to assure all these ponies I'd save them, I didn't want to make promises I couldn't keep. Especially to ponies so vulnerable and hopeless.

After scouting every cell and whispering Zulu and Brandy's names more times than I could count, I figured they were both in one of the wooden boxes we had spotted earlier. I hoped they were, at least. If they were elsewhere, I had no idea where to begin. And I didn't even have Atterclop any more to help me.

It didn't take me long to find the exit, as the building wasn't big. Just a load of cells, and a couple of side rooms. It seemed that the now unconscious Raider Boss was the only pony in the Security Building who wasn't a slave, which made stealth redundant within the building, however when I slowly poked my head around the corner of the exit, I quickly found I wouldn't be as lucky outside. I retracted instantly, as I found a group of three raiders, complete with atrocious manestyles and fashion sense, congregating outside the Security Building like a gang of teenagers. I then realised that stealth outside was a job for the stealth cloak. Crap.

I realised I had to improvise. If stealth was out of the question, then my next best bet would be to come across as someone they would let wander around. I came to the conclusion that the freaky bondage gear of that Raider Boss would do well in helping me look 'raidery.'

Or most likely, it would probably just make me look really kinky. Regardless, it was the best I could come up with, so I tried my best to drown out the slaves pleeding or cursing me as I ran past them, as well as the mild pain that still sprung up from my foreleg as I ran. Juggling the pain from my leg, the anguish from the slaves, and the stealth from my unstealthy horseshoes, I made my way back to the office. For the life of me, I just wanted to shoot the locks off the cells and let every one of those slaves roam free, if only I could.

I laid my eyes on the Raider Boss, still unconscious in the office' doorway. I wondered if he even knew how to spell the word 'bath' as I caught a whiff of his unwashed coat. Knowing he wasn't getting any less dirty, I held my breath as I carefully disrobed him, all the while praying he didn't suddenly wake up and start a psychotic murder episode. 

I held the spiked bondage in my hooves, examining it as I tried to figure out which holes my hooves were meant to go in. Eventually, after much difficulty and worry of waking my new 'friend', my whole body was adorned in spikes and bondage. I felt dirty just existing in them, like simply wearing them would turn me into a raider, tainting my every moral and desire.

Still with no better ideas coming to mind, I soldier on, swiftly running back down the cell hallway. However, when I found the exit again, it came to my attention that slipping past the gang wasn't going to be as easy as dressing like them.

"Look at this Stable asswipe," I heard a nasally voiced unicorn buck say as I discreetly poked my head around the corner. "All prim and proper with his 'formal attire'. Either the artist wasn't thinking with any detail, or that hat of his hasn't got a scratch on it!"

The raider who spoke held a copy of my wanted poster, with a pile of them laying next to him, his friends laughing and mindlessly agreeing to his criticism.

"Ya think that's why that Silver fella wants it?" Another buck, an earthpony with a far deeper voice and a far larger stomach, said. Judging by the size of him, I'd say he probably ate any slave that looked at him funny. "Ten thousand for the Stable Dweller, but another thirty if he has the hat, too? Jus' don't add up. Why's the hat so much more expensive than the pony?"

"You're damn right it don't add up, you megadork!" An earthpony mare mocked the fat buck. "Ten plus thirty don't equal fifty, ya fucktwat."

"Well who cares what the client wants," said the nasally buck. "I'm more worried about what the Boss is gonna do with that bounty money. You'd think with fifty K's worth of dough, he'd finally get us some good housing again."

"Nah, ya know what he's like," said the mare distastefully. "The cuntchops'll just blow it all on his daughter. He'll probably buy her some luxury pet or something, while the rest of us have to huddle together like animals to stay warm at night. Well he can shove that pet up his daughter's ass!"

"And what about that Stable Dweller?" The fat buck said. "What's Silver want with a Stable Dweller of all things? Ya think it's got something to do with his tech company?"

"Beats the hell outta me," said the nasally unicorn. "Motherfucker looks more like a cowpony than a Stable Dweller to me. Either way, I don't like him. You've heard the stories about that lady Stable Dweller. They're dangerous ponies I tell ya. If ya see a green earth pony ya don't recognise, well…"

The unicorn levitated a pistol out of a holster on his leg, and cocked with the biggest shit-eating grin I'd ever seen. And his two psychotic friends only joined in on his smug cackling.

There was no dice about sneaking past them, as they were standing far too close for me to be unseen. And unless one of these slaves happened to have a butt-ton of dye they were willing to share, there was no chance of the gang not recognising me, even with with bondage.

I started for the office again as silently as my horseshoes would allow. Once in, I sat and leaned against the wall, thinking. They know what I look like. I thought to myself. Raider gear isn't gonna be enough to blend in.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of several slaves fighting in their cell. Biting, kicking, screaming and howling. Why they had decided to start a fight, I had no idea, but I knew the gang would get annoyed at the noise eventually, and I feared I'd be caught when they came to investigate.

I swiftly left and closed the door so the gang couldn't see their Boss's unconscious body. I figured closing the door might trick the gang into thinking their Boss was interrogating me, and decide to leave us alone. In hindsight, if that trick worked, I could have stayed in the office anyway, but I wasn't gonna risk the Raider Boss waking up. He had to eventually.

So down the hall I ran again, in the opposite direction this time, eventually stumbling across the girls' restroom. I was in too much of a rush to think about gender as I entered, only praying the gang didn't hear me, or search the building if they found their Boss.

When I entered, I really wished I had entered the boys' restroom. No bowel movement smelled like this. Only one thing did.

I heard the sound of flies from the corner of the room, and when I looked, I nearly vomited from the sight alone. Beside the corner stall was the corpse of a semi-recently deceased mare. I think her coat was originally white, but now it was just grey with splotches of black, and plenty of red patches, coated with bodily fluids I didn't dare to imagine.

I couldn't look away as I drank in the disgusting details of her progressive deterioration. Her eyes were yellowed, and looked incredibly dry, with flies pestering about them, eating her sclera and laying their eggs in her eyelids. Some of which had already hatched, as maggots were scrounging with the flies for her sclera.

Her lips were cracked, and dripped with suspicious liquid, as was found all around her body, particularly near her groin, which was the area most covered in blood, and… and…

I quickly gave up noting her appearance, as I had to run to the nearest stall, and barely made it as I heaved, vomiting my breakfast, and trying to be as quiet as possible as I did. Being surprise attacked mid-vomit was not a desirable death, if ever there were such a thing in the Wasteland, much less a raider camp. Panic soon set in as I couldn't stop. They were gonna hear me! I tried to stop by covering my mouth with a hoof, but all I ended up doing was drenching my hoof. 

I suffered until my stomach was empty; not that there was any more than a few apples, some Sparkle-Cola, a bit of Fetchway hay, and my stomach acids in there in the first place. After I had nothing left to chuck up, I simply rested there, waiting as the minutes passed, hoping the gang hadn't heard me. After maybe five minutes of just staring into nothing, I figured I was in the clear.

I hesitantly left the stall, letting my vomit just sit there in the bowl as I sobered up and headed for one of the sinks, avoiding all visual contact with the mare. Rather typically, the water wasn't running, meaning I had to swill my mouth out with a bottle of Sparkle-Cola from my saddlebag. I tried telling myself a joke about how my dentist probably just felt a great disturbance from such an act happening, but it did nothing to lift my spirits.

After I used the last of the Sparkle-Cola to wash my hooves, one having been covered in vomit, while the other was probably covered in every type of bacteria in the book from holding the toilet bowl for so long, my attention was drawn to my reflection in the mirror above the sink. I looked like a mess. My once chocolate-brown mane was now dirty, and sticking up in places, having not been cut since even a while before the Steel Ranger Attack. And me not having showered in a week, save for my little swim with Zulu, didn't help. My coat looked a tad more pale from my recent vomiting, and my eyes were bloodshot slightly. The only thing that really looked normal about me was my magenta eyes. Not all that common a colour in Stable Two, but given both my parents shared that eye colour, it was only inevitable that it would be passed down to me. 

My euphoric reminiscing of my parents ended quickly when my attire caught my attention. I hated the spikes and bondage, as they made me feel dirtier than I already was. The black barding didn't help, and the cumbersome metal sewn into it, while helpful in protecting me from attackers, still felt uncomfortable to wear at times, and definitely made me less agile. The inclusion of my leg-mounted revolver was something no one would have ever expected for my casual attire back before the Ranger attack, yet there it was, just a natural part of what I wore now.

And yet, taking everything about my looks into consideration, despite how much of a raider I looked, that gang would still see past the disguise the moment they noticed my green coat.

I sighed. "Any ideas?" I asked as I stared into the mirror. I stared back at my own dirty face for only a moment before it was replaced by a beautifully clean, white-coated mare, with eyes like sapphires shining reverently. Probably the cleanest thing around for miles, and she only really existed in my head.

"If we had the materials, I would teach you how to dye your coat, so you don't match your wanted poster."

"You don't think one of those slaves has an affinity for coat-dying do you?" I shallowly jested.

She sighed. "Doubtful, dear. However, I do have an idea that will… probably work…

"Oh? You don't sound very optimistic."

"It won't be a problem as to whether or not it will work. It will. But..." Again, she sighed. I didn't like where this was going. "I can't believe I'm about to suggest this, - Celestia knows the original Rarity would be utterly disgusted at simply the mention of it - but I have an idea. And you're not going to like it, dear."


***


I slowly trotted down the Security Building's cell hallway, hearing nothing but the sound of my metal horseshoes gradually hitting the ground, and the odd droplet of the mare's blood dripping off my chin and also hitting the ground.

I'd have rather died than let the blood stain my hat, so I folded it into my saddlebag, which I hated doing, - folding my hat felt like a disrespect to the many generations before me who wore it - but I knew it was the better option.

Every cell fell deadly quiet as I passed, which was impressive, as the whole building seemed rather silent after the gang dealt with the fighting slaves.

As I slowly approached the exit, I could clearly hear the sound of those three raiders beating two or three slaves outside. When I poked my head outside, I found it was actually four slaves being beaten by the raiders. Three of the slaves whimpered with each blow, while the fourth remained silent. I used the opportunity to sneak out undetected, stealthily creeping around to the other side of the building while the raider gang was distracted. Typical. I didn't even need my new face paint for this part of the plan.

As a cold wind blowed lightly against my wet face, I peered around the raider town, and quickly realised exactly where I was, as the many wooden boxes Zulu and I had earlier seen strewn about the place were visible. Turning my head to the side, the not-tree where the Raider Boss's daughter had shot Zulu and I was clearly visible.

Going back to the slave boxes, I knew Brandy was bound to be in one of them. The question was, which one? If I snuck up to a random box and cracked it open, I'd probably just unleash a load of random slaves, and all hell would break out around the camp.

No, I needed to find someone with information, who knew which slaves were where. Then I'd come back with plenty more ponies to free the rest later.

Seemingly right on queue, a mare made her way to one of the slave boxes with a tray on her back. After placing said tray on the ground near the box, she pulled out a crowbar and proceeded to remove one of the wooden planks. Feeding time.

No better options seemed to have presented themselves, so I had to assume this mare was my best bet at finding either of my friends. She at least was a good place to start.

After I took just one step however, my leg tripped over something, sending me sprawling and landing flat on my face, only barely missing a puddle of rainwater. Mercy; I really didn't want to reapply my new face paint.

When I looked back to see what I had tripped over, my eyes fell on a tiny, white figure, running away as fast as it could, as though it were being chased by a brewster wolf.

"Atterclop! It's me, Applebuck!" I shouted-whispered to her. She stopped when she heard my voice, but as soon as she caught sight of me, she flinched, then quickly continued, slipping out of sight behind a half-dismantled house.

"No, wait! It's me! You can help me find Zulu!" But it was no use. Sighing in defeat, I was about to get up when my eye caught sight of the puddle I had barely missed.

I hovered my face over the puddle, and stared straight at my blood-soaked, deadpanned face. I wondered if Littlepip ever had to gut a corpse in order to survive.

"Now isn't the time for pouting, AB. You have a job to do. Please, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and just get this over with."

I stared at my reflection still. My face was completely covered in the mare's blood, leaving no patch of green from my original colour to be seen. I also took the liberty of splashing said blood along my hind legs, knowing well that the joints in my braces would get sticky when the blood dried, but I knew I couldn't risk any raiders seeing any green.

"Applebuck." Suki was starting to sound agitated now. "Get up. I've been very patient so far. This hasn't been easy for me either. Let's just finish this so we can go ho-"

"Will you shut up?!" I slammed my hoof in the puddle, causing water droplets to splash my face. I immediately sat on my haunches and rubbed my face, trying to get the dirty water out of my eyes, and hoping that all that water wasn't enough to warrant another round of stabbing that mare with a shard of glass for a 'fresh' coat of paint.

I wasn't sure if it was the dirty water, or just the rush of emotion, but I felt on the verge of tears. Sorrow and anger in equal measure flowed through me, and all I wanted was to be home again.

I shook my head to clear it. I knew that this was it. There was nowhere else for Brandy to be but here, so if I could just find him, we could leg it back to R7 and put everything behind us. I kept telling myself that as I returned to my reflection. The blood had already stained my coat, something awful; I doubted I'd ever look as green as I had before I left Stable Two again.

Suffice it to say, a little puddle wasn't going to be enough to wipe the blood away.


***


I approached the slave feeder mare, and, upon closer inspection, found her to be a rather gross looking mare, now slipping a tray full of slob through another one of the boxes where a plank of wood had been removed. By the looks of things, the food seemed to have already been eaten and spat out.

"Excu- ahem. You there!" I pointed at the mare and spoke in a gravelly voice as she caught my gaze. One of her eyes appeared to be growing rather cancerously, and her teeth looked as yellow as her mangie coat. "There was a filthy zebra taken from behind a tree over there not so long ago," I pointed roughly to where Zulu and I were shot. "I want that stripe to taste his own blood when I knock his teeth back. Know where he is?"

"And just who the hell are you, hotshot? Eat out any mares lately, with a face like that?" Luna, she sounded like a spider-pony…

"The name's Knife Bite, not that it's any of your business, cunt. Where's that fucking stripe? I'm not gonna ask again." Speaking like this to someone was really foreign to me, but calling someone a cunt to their face was really thrilling, and maybe even a little satisfying. My mother would have clipped me round the ear if she ever heard me using such language.

"Alright alright, no need for insults. I heard the Boss's kid had him dragged behind the Boss's house for a beating about an hour ago." She pointed to a nearby house, one of few still completely built. "If you wanna beat the shit out of him, you're probably a bit late, zebra bigot. The others already got to him."

Before she could even finish her sentence, I was sprinting to the house as fast as my little pony legs would let me.


***








Zulu and I sat curled up in silence behind the house on some hay, soaking up what little sunlight was finally poking from above the nearby hills. I knew Silver was coming, so I would soon urge Zulu to move so we could find Brandy. For now though, Atterclop had found us, and was spinning webs to create makeshift bandages for Zulu's injuries. He had a black eye, so swollen he couldn't keep it open, and the beating the raiders had given him left him with all manner of cuts and bruises, as well as a twisted ankle. Even after two healing potions, he was in pretty bad shape.

"Where is your friend?" he whispered from beside me, breaking the silence that had been here since I found him.

"I haven't found him yet. Probably in one of those wooden boxes."

"Then you're wasting time. Silver will be here soon."

"No. We've got to go together. What if they come back for more? I can't protect you from across the camp."

"What if you're missing your last chance to find him? Don't miss this shot. Besides, Atterclop will protect me."

My leg was nudged by Atterclop, erging me to get up. Giving into their consistent encouragement, I left Zulu one last precious healing potion. He wasn't out in the open, so I hoped any ruckus I may cause wouldn't put him in any danger.

Returning to the boxes, I found the yellow mare with the cancerous eye kneeling in front of yet another box with a plank missing, feeding the ponies within that sludge they passed for food.

"Hey, you again."

The mare jumped as I addressed her. "Oh, it's you. What'd I tell you, the others already got to h-."

"Never mind that now," I rudely stopped her. "Listen, I'm looking for a slave now. A purple one with a black mane. Would've just got here abou-"

It was the mare's turn to rudely cut me off. "Fuck if I know. I'm just the dinner-mare. The only person who gives a shit about who's where is the Boss. You got a problem? Go take it up with him." And like that, she went back to feeding the slaves as if I wasn't there.

Fuck. As if it'd actually be that easy. There were about three dozen slave boxes here, and Silver would get here long before I managed to check each box individually. And that's assuming that I'd be able to check any boxes at all before the yellow mare busted me.

Dealing with the mare however, seemed at least possible, as with her back now turned, she was completely vulnerable.

While she was distracted, I discreetly made my way behind her, then readied Twinkle, pointing it at her head. It would be easy. Just pull the trigger and… sigh…

I hesitated, staying there for a few seconds before she started to turn. Then I pulled my hoof back and clubbed her on the head with my Pip-Buck. She fell with a quiet yelp, and stayed down. She had called me a bigot because I said I wanted to beat Zulu up. As far as I was concerned, that meant she was one of the nicer slavers.

Moving her body away from the box, I stuck my head in, heard a cry, then got a smack across my cheek for my trouble. I pulled out, rubbing at my face and whispering, "Hey, I'm not a slaver, I'm just looking for someone!"

There was no response from the box. Maybe I had to prove myself. Beside the unconscious raider mare was her crowbar, which I then slid through into the box.

"I'm just a Wastelander," I said. "I'll help you get out, but first, I'm looking for someone called Brandybuck. He's purple, and he would've only gotten here the other day. Does he ring any bells to anyone?"

Murmurs sprung from within the box, though I was hesitant to stick my head in again to look for myself.

"How do we know you won't kill us?" one asked.

"Politely, I don't give a shit about you. I'm looking for Brandy, who clearly isn't here. Look, you all need to stay put. If you all run about, they'll kill you. I need to see what I can do to help everyone. But first, I just need a little ti-

*BANG!*

A sharp pain flared in my side, between the metal plates in my barding. I immediately fell, grasping my new wound with a hoof. Sure enough, blood dribbled from the hole as I looked at it.

When I peered in the direction from which the bullet came, I saw the Raider Boss whose leg hung limply at his side as he was held shoulder-to-shoulder by a teenage mare wearing Zulu's stealth cloak. And she held in her mouth the smoking gun from which the bullet was fired.

The two ponies hobbled over to me as a crowd was roused by the sound of gunshots.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you right now," said the Raider Boss. He looked in pain, and more than a little pissed off. He signalled something with his working hoof, and every raider with a gun pointed theirs at me.

"Because Silver gives you a bigger reward for bringing me in alive." Despite my plight, I knew I had to keep my cool if I was gonna sound convincing. I was reassured by the knowledge that Silver would probably kill him if he killed me. And the emotional high of being probably within fifty feet of Brandy right now was too good to deter me, as well as the adrenaline from my bullet wound.

He nodded to a specific pony, who then shot me in the foreleg. Despite the bullet stopping as it hit a metal plate, I felt pain of indescribable measure flaring up my leg. Despite the healing potions I had drunk earlier, the bruise from my leg was still very present. And that bullet had made it feel like it was being shredded. Suffice it to say, a few tears fell down my blood-soaked face as I tried so hard to control the pain. 

"He said alive. Not in one piece," the Raider Boss said smugly.

Many raiders laughed at my pain, and most looked eager to see more, with rotten smiles on their faces. If I had to guess, there were about twenty, maybe thirty of them now, with quite a few more gathering, completely circling me off from escaping.

"Do you even know why Silver wants me?" I asked the Raider Boss through clenched teeth.

"Beats the hell outta me. I didn't ask him; not my business."

"You met him?"

"Sure. He came here the other day with a few of his lackeys to deliver your wanted posters, and trade too. Now Silver will do with you as he pleases, while I get my deserved reward. Silver's happy. I'm happy. And everyone wins." He laughed dryly. "Except for you. Who knows what that asshole wants with a pathetic Stable Dweller like you. Nothin' good, I bet."

I wasn't gonna let that happen. I was so close to getting what I wanted. Brandy was right there! At least, that's what I was led to believe. "If I'm gonna die, can I at least ask one question?"

The Raider Boss scoffed. "Make it quick."

"I'm here because I'm looking for somepony. A purple earth pony buck with black hair and magenta eyes. Would've been poking around the Double Eff. You gotten any new ponies with that description lately?"

His smug expression didn't change, and several seconds of silence passed before anything happened. Then he held a hoof up, and every armed raider readied their guns at me.

"Fire."

Not gonna happen! As soon as I heard the word, instinct immediately overrode me, and I tensed up as I saw a blue flash from all around me, followed by a sensation that felt like my body was being squeezed through a hole just barely meant for its size. I had managed to use this spell to defeat Silver the last time I saw him. I had also managed to harness it a couple times in the Double Eff to avoid blows from brewster wolves. I was glad the training had paid off.

I disappeared from the sight of the raiders, who had just planted more than a few dozen bullets into the ground where I once stood. I then reappeared, landing beside a pair of ponies who were huddled together. The spell usually took a fair bit of energy out of me, but this time, I was only teleporting about a foot or two into the inside of the wooden box. Immediately, I pulled the missing plank to its original place, with its nails still poking outside.

Bathed in darkness, I activated my Pip-Buck lamp, and got a good look at the ponies in the box. Examining each one's face, it was clear to me that, even with them bathed in the bright green of my lamp, not one of them was Brandy, but all of them looked terrified. Whether they were scared of the situation we were now all in, or just of me, I couldn't yet tell.

I didn't know what to do, and thinking was almost as difficult as breathing, what with the searing pain from my wound. Aware that I only had two healing potions left, I saved one for later, and guzzled down the other, untensing as the pain faded and my flesh knitted back together, pushing the bullet out, which bounced as it hit the ground. A few of these slaves looked like they could have used one too. Actually, most of them did, but I couldn't afford that right now. I had only a few seconds before the raiders either pried the box open, or shot it to smithereens.

"Y-you said you don't care about us," one particularly malnourished stallion commented. "Are you gonna save us?

"I know what I said, and I'll see what I can do. " I told him as I checked my gun's cylinder to make sure it was full. It then dawned on me the danger of the situation I had gotten myself in. Kill or be killed; more bloodshed would come because of me.

"So why?" asked a mare angrily. This one seemed a bit less famished, but seemed to suffer from some form of trench-hoof. "You some raider gone rogue?"

"Never mind that now. I'm gonna make everything right, I promise."

"How?"

I sighed as I gazed about the inside of the box, drinking in the sight of the scared and confused slave ponies who had done nothing wrong. Their lives now depended on me and my competence, and so did my own life. 

A plan started to formulate in my mind. A very terrible plan. One that almost certainly wouldn't work. But unless there was some miraculous anti-raider group that was headed this way with an ambush, I doubted I had any better alternatives.

I focused on where I remembered the Raider Boss being last, then attempted to teleport. I held my breath, but nothing happened. My heartbeat was quick, and the pressure was on. I knew that if I failed, this was the end of the road. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, which made my partially healed wound flame up, but helped calm me down overall. I tried again, and after a flash, this time I found myself outside.

A blue flash appeared a short distance behind the Raider Boss and the mare next to him, with me in the middle of it. As soon as I realised that, I didn't hesitate as I ran at them as fast as I could. By the time they themselves realised, I had already rammed myself into the mare, knocking her to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, I extended my leg braces' hoof supports and stood on my hindlegs, proceeding to hold the Raider Boss in a choke hold with one arm, and hold Twinkle against the side of his head with my other.

"Not a single person shoot! Not a single person move! Anyone tries anything, and I'll paint the ground with this pony's brains! You hear me!?" I shouted as loud as I could.

"For Luna's sake, do as he asks!" The Raider Boss shouted in panic, his one good arm gesturing to his ponies to stand down.

Adrenaline was racing through my veins like a raging river. The thrill of shouting my lungs out, on top of threatening to murder someone, was causing a whole new feeling to occur to me - one of power and controll, and I hoped it wouldn't cause me to do something stupid like actually kill someone, even if they were a slaver. I reminded myself: I was only here for Brandy.

The Raider's daughter, now on the floor, moved Zulu's cloak out of her eyes and reached out to me. "Stop! Don't kill him! Please! Put the gun down!"

I held the gun on him still. I wasn't gonna let him take the upper hoof. "No one's gonna get hurt if I get what I want."

"What do you want?" She asked frantically.

I looked around. Every gun was still pointed at me. "First, I want the only weapon being held to be mine. Put every gun, tire iron, crobar, and the rest, into a pile where I can see them."

After the Raider Boss commanded his employees accordingly, I scanned the area for any more guns. By the looks of things, I was now in the clear.

"Right, now I want all those slaves released from the boxes."

"What? But they're our livestock-" I cut the Raider Boss off by pushing the barrel of my gun closer against his head.

"Every single one of those slaves. I want them free. Send them off wherever. They'll find their ways. But I want each individual box opened one-by-one; I'm looking for my friend."

Reluctantly, the Raider Boss sighed, then called out for the slaves to be released.

One by one, the boxes were dismantled, and the ponies within were encouraged to escape. I examined each boxful as the slaves spilled out and ran off to the Double Eff, or any other location they thought to go, but one after the other, box after box after box, I couldn't find him. I called his name several times per box, but the only slave that stopped was a mare, who continued her escape a moment later.

Not the Brandy I was looking for.

"I don't understand. I thought Brandy was supposed to be here," I glared as I asked the Raider Boss.

"Um, the pony you're looking for," His daughter asked quietly. "His name is Brandy?"

I now glared at her. "There a problem?"

She shared a look with her father before replying. "Silver Eyes asked for a pony called Brandy when he came here the day before yesterday. I sold a Brandy myself for five hundred caps.

My eyes widened. Then widened more as realisation struck me. Silver. He was on his way here. All my problems were about to be solved! All I needed to do now was…

Suki… 

I could get Brandy back for certain now, but I'd have to trade Suki for him. A sacrifice I wasn't sure I was entirely willing to make.

And even if I was, there was still the problem of the entire Raider Camp getting ready for me to let my guard down so they could surprise attack me.

I gulped. "Right, the next thing I want is to be alone. I want every raider to run off. Get back here in a few hours or something. I don't care. But right now, I want every pony gone, except for myself, your Boss, his daughter, and you," I nodded toward the cancerous-eyed mare who had been feeding the slaves; she had just woken up a couple minutes ago.

"I need you to release all the slaves from the Security Building, and I want every slave to be sent off just like the rest. Once everyone but the Boss, his daughter, and myself is gone, you can regroup later. Silver will have picked me up by then."

With nothing left to be said, the Raider Boss disbanded his tribe of slavers, urging them to flee swiftly. I took the moment to ask Suki a question. Suki, I need to know. No bullshit. If I hand you over to Silver, what will happen?

"Tywyll will be able to reform using my magic. If he does that, he will erect an army, and eventually expand it and conquer Equestria."

Is that a bad thing? There's no government here. Maybe this is just what the Wasteland needs.

"Not if Equestria cares about its freedom. This will be the beginning of another terrible war, Applebuck. Tywyll cannot be allowed to reform. No matter the cost."

"Okay," said the Raider Boss, ending my internal conversation. "now what? What're you gonna do with us?" I quickly found the camp was empty already.

The daughter stood before us, her eyes large, practically begging I spare her beloved father. I sighed, then threw him to the floor, quickly taking a few steps back to make some distance between us as his daughter rushed to his aid.

"Look, all I want is my friend back. I've been searching for ages, and I'm sorry I had to bring you into this, but I will do anything to get him back."

"Your friend," said the mare distastefully. "said he was a Stable Dweller. I take it that means you're one too?"

I nodded.

"Then I guess all Stable Dwellers are as psychopathic as the two of you?"

"Huh? I just wanted my friend back. If your employees had never attacked his group, none of this would have happened. And all those slaves would be back in their boxes. You brought this upon yourself, raiders."

"So that's what happened," said the Raider Boss. "A few of our boys and girls went scrounging in the Double Eff last week. When they didn't come back, Malice here, and a few others went looking for them. All they found were their corpses, riddled with bullet holes. On the way back, they found your friend and took him as new livestock.

"I'm sorry about your friends."

"Hah! You think every raider in a raider group is friends with each other? The only things that matter to me are money, and Malice."

"Well, then you understand the importance  of family," I told him simply. "My family isn't complete without Brandy. I-"

I was abruptly cut off as Zulu lunged at the Raider Boss, taking a page out of his sister's book and seeming to appear from nowhere, sinking his teeth deep into the Raider Boss's neck until blood spurted and painted his maw.

Malice backed off in fright, but rushed over and rammed Zulu off her father, engaging in a hoof-fight with Zulu. Shock paralysed me, but as soon as I snapped out of it, I tried to aim Twinkle. But it was a painfully unclean shot.

Zulu got a good buck with his back legs, knocking Malice off him, along with a tooth or two of hers.

As Malice spat blood, her father pummeled Zulu for his insolence. Even with only one punching arm, and a dramatic loss of blood, Malice' father was one hell of a fighter. Either that, or seeing his daughter in pain pushed him far over the edge. Zulu didn't realise the danger he had unleashed on himself, not being a family guy himself.

I had little time to pity Zulu, as Malice, complete with a maw as bloody as his, charged at me, screaming something awful; looking back, she reminds me of myself during my first encounter with the brewster wolves, back when I first discovered my magical abilities a whole seven days ago when Ella and I had left the Stable.

I didn't have time to question why she was bothering with me before she became a danger. Try as she might though, Malice wasn't a strong fighter. She tried getting a few punches in, but I managed to hold her hooves in restraint. Unfortunately, her franticness would be her fatal downfall in this fight, as her hoof slipped over the side of mine, and-

*BANG!*

In a fraction of a second, the scampering sounds brought on by our pathetic little scuffle were silenced. No sooner did I feel warm liquid drool down my front as Malice fell forwards onto me.

I caught her as she exhaled deeply, slowly. More blood running down my front as I felt her start to tremble.

Malice' father pushed himself off Zulu, complete fear in his eyes as he hobbled to his daughter as fast as he could on three legs, completely ignoring the wound on his neck. He grabbed Malice from me and gently placed her on the ground as I stared in awe with my mouth agape.

I had shot her. After all this time, trying my best to never kill someone. Seven days in the Wasteland, and finally, I had done it. Her eyes still fluttered as her life persevered and struggled to hold on, enduring the final throes of death as blood leaked freely.

I heard little as Malice and her father whispered to each other. Respectfully, I looked the other way and tried not to pay any attention. Which was easier than I thought, as my mind was focused on the thought of me having ended an equine life. Still I overheard a few words that caused guilt to wrack my body. Words like 'Daddy', and 'the Fam'.

After a few seconds, silence fell again. Dangerous silence. And suddenly, I felt very unsafe. More so than I was when a tribe of raiders had all their guns pointed at me.

The Raider Boss slowly turned his head toward me, tears streaming down his cheeks freely, his breathing heavy and weezy. Anger and grief were as visible as the bright crimson on both our hooves. As physically present as it was metaphorically.

My Pip-Buck let out the familiar screech that accompanied S.A.T.S. as I raised Twinkle, aiming it at the raider who seemed to fly as he lunged at me in slow motion. A religious pony, I was not. But I knew in that moment, as tears started to roll down my face, that I'd see these two raiders again. And that I'd shake their hooves in a specially selected spot in hell. 

Saved specially for cold blooded murderers.

I fired three shots, and all three landed in separate areas of his face as his momentum left him crashing into the ground before me. I backed off in fright. Actually, disgust might be a better word. Killing someone on accident during a fight is one thing, but killing that person's father afterward was a whole nother level of fucked up.

I was disgusted with myself. My heartbeat started to pick up as the adrenaline wore off, and the realisation started to settle in. I saw the bloody hole ripped in Malice's chest. then the three holes ripped in her father's face. Teeth and flesh missing where bullets had ripped them apart. I realised I didn't even know the name of the stallion I had just murdered.

I saw Zulu, who seemed shocked at my actions, but relieved the worst was over. Maybe he was just glad his cloak survived the assault. But me? This was all too much for me to handle. My head started spinning, and suddenly, I felt very woozy. Vertigo overtook me as I fell to the floor, and not a moment later my stomach racked, and I emptied my stomach only inches away from the Raider Boss's cooling corpse.

Tears flowed down my face as my stomach churned again. The physical pain was unbearable with my stomach already being empty, all except for the fire-like bile escaping my throat. The grief, and anguish of my actions was equally unbearable. Yet I suffered both together to add insult to my injury.

My eyes widened slowly. I looked along my body - my hat having fallen out of my bags and to the ground during the fight, not deserving to be touching a pony as disgusting as myself - and peered at my metallic legs, making my way to the black barding with steel sewed in for added protection, entangled with the bondage gear tipped with metal spikes. I then found my Pip-Buck, a marvel of Equestrian engineering, and my leg-mounted revolver, another proud murder weapon, created and used solely for such.

Hiding within the confines of a metal shell, adorning body-mounted weapons and Stable-Tec technology, and covered in more blood than was even remotely honourable…

"After all that's happened, after all this time, the final switch has been flipped. I have become the Metal Monster."

After a few seconds of silence, save for my pathetic coughs and slimy sobs, I didn't need to open my eyes to identify the pony whose metallic hoofsteps I heard upon the dirty ground, approaching me from behind. Another Metal Monster. One who was after my friend. Unfortunately, he also had my other friend as a bargaining chip.

Silver sighed. "A Metal Monster? Yeah, I've felt like that before. A Metal Puppet mostly, really. But all of that is gonna change soon, Apple. I have Brandy in a chariot on the outskirts of the town, waiting for you."

I didn't respond.

Again, he sighed. "Welcome to the Wasteland, Apple; it's kill or be killed out here. Congratulations on not being the former."

My eyes shot open as I snapped to face him. "My name is Applebuck! Not Apple! Not Bucko! Not Bucky! Just Applebuck! Applebuck the murderer! The Stable Dweller who killed a stallion and his daughter! You want my hat? You can't have it!" I replaced Suki on my head, not caring if any undried blood stained it. "I can't have Brandy anymore! He doesn't deserve me."

Silver came up beside me, sitting down and keeping his hooves to himself - I could see Zulu keeping a close eye on his every movement. "So, what? You're just gonna… run away? You've come so far so you could achieve your goal, and when you finally do it, you wanna throw it away because you killed someone? Grow up, Applebuck. This is the Wasteland; shit happens. But when my Master returns, we will have a government again. A kingdom again."

"I don't want to be a part of a kingdom."

"Why? You think you're so bad because you're a murderer? Well think about this: how many children do you think die because there are no hospitals? Hm? Or how about medicine? The basic things you had growing up in that little box of yours aren't available out here. And people die because of it. Every. Fucking. Day.

"Give me that hat, and it will all end. We will revolt against the Enclave, and see sunny days again. That Orchard Applebloom said she wanted in that Stable of yours - I'm sure it must be wearing a bit thin after two hundred years of fake sunlight. Moving an Orchard isn't easy, but it can be done. Once you clean out the radiation from the soil, and the cloud layer is gone, it will thrive. All because of my Master. You want that? A chance to be an Orchard Worker again?"

"How do you know abou-" But he cut me off.

"Brandy told me enough. Listen, Applebuck. Things will get better for everyone. The raiders will be gone. The Enclave will be gone. And peace will be restored. Don't you want that?"

I looked into his eyes as I reluctantly nodded.

"Then give me the hat. All will be right with the world for the first time in a very long time." His hoof outstretched to me. I gazed at it for a moment, then looked back and stared at the two lifeless cadavers I had created, then at Zulu. His expression seemed unreadable, as though he himself wasn't sure what to think. I removed my hat and looked at it. One life. Suki's life. One life for countless generations afterward. 

I looked at Silver. I had just destroyed two lives. What was one more?