Chapter 14
Sarah sighed, Winter was out at the moment on a medical errand that she wasn’t invited on and she had nothing to do. She thought back to their discussion the previous day... maybe it was time to try making more friends. The blonde got up from the improvised chair, scratching at a bug bite on her lower arm. She exited their ‘home’ and walked out into the street, looking for somepony to befriend.
The woman coughed as the dirty Fillydelphia air ran across her throat and made her eyes water a little. Luckily, or maybe it wasn’t so luckily, she’d begun to adapt to the air quality of the place and recovered after only a few seconds before she took a determined step forward. She could see several ponies who didn’t seem to be doing anything, though they weren’t exactly idle.
To Sarah’s practiced eye they reminded her a bit of initiates who had finished with their routine, but didn’t want Paladin Gunny to assign them more work. Of course, in this place she doubted that the punishment would be as light as a hundred pushups. As her eyes roamed the street, she noticed that every pony on it was looking at her anxiously and fearfully, as if afraid she’d attack them without any form of hesitation.
I guess they’re scared of someone who can take on a griffin by herself and win, Sarah thought to herself. Makes sense... she took a look at herself and her dirty, torn, and bloody shirt. I don’t exactly look very friendly do I?
With a silent sigh Sarah moved forward, doing her best to ignore the weary gazes being directed at her. The city disgusted Sarah, everywhere she looked the ponies were dying a slow death, barely making it from one day to the next... and here she was... completely powerless to stop it. The more she thought about it, the more angry it made Sarah. No one should have the ability to make people suffer this way, and when Ethan got here and busted her out, there’d be Hell to pay.
After twenty minutes of walking, the woman came across the first pony who hadn’t openly glared at her. It was the little brown pegasus she’d seen wandering around the hospital a few times. At the moment he was in the middle of sketching something on a pad, not paying total attention to what was going on around him.
Sarah frowned, unsure of whether or not to interrupt the stallion’s efforts. In the end, she decided that it was worth it if she could make a friend here. She approached him and quietly tapped him on the shoulder. The reaction was immediate and unfortunately not very positive. He jumped in place at the unexpected touch, looked up at the tall woman, let out a squeak of fear, and ran off in the other direction as fast as his hooves could carry him.
“Damn...” Sarah grumbled quietly to herself. “I just wanted to say hello...”
With a disappointed sigh, Sarah went back to searching, hoping that somewhere out there there would be a pony who wanted to be her friend.
“And that’s how I learned how to take down a hover tank with my bare hands,” Ethan explained with a smile as he led Holly through the Wasteland. Day was on patrol, as usual, and the two plus Eddie had spent the morning talking as they walked through the outskirts of Manehatten.
“That’s... really hard to believe,” Holly said with a shake of her head. “I mean, I’ve heard of things like that... but to think that where you’re from somepony actually figured out a way to transport your mind into that type of thing is... scary.”
“Oh, we had those too,” Eddie spoke up. “Though I don’t think we were quite as good at them, and we used magitech instead of just normal technology.”
“Makes sense... to be honest Eddie, I’m actually pretty surprised that you managed to integrate with my Pip-Boy so easily,” Ethan confessed. “I mean, at the very least you’re made up of a different base-code then what Vault-Tech used so...”
“Actually, I’m mostly made up of magic,” Eddie corrected. “And magic can do anything for you if you’ve got enough time and patience for it.”
Holly, who had fallen silent as the other two talked suddenly looked up at Ethan, and then smacked herself across the face.
“You okay there?” the man asked her with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah... I just remember something... and I’m an idiot for forgetting it in the first place,” the mare said with a low grumble. “I-I got captured by a couple of slavers... about five years ago when Berry and I were out scaving around Manehatten...” she trailed off with a slight shiver at the memory.
“I’m sorry,” Ethan said with a sigh. “I fucking hate slavers.”
“Yeah... join the fucking club,” Holly replied with a growl before she continued. “Anyways, that’s not the important part of this story.”
“Oh, and what is it then?” Ethan asked casually as he holstered his large shotgun and drew his shocksword.
“Well, I got rescued by this mare Moonbeam and a really tall hornless minotaur,” Holly said, glancing up at Ethan. “He shoved one of the slaver’s heads into a fire.”
“And this is important why?” the man asked her.
“Because now that I think about it, the minotaur really looked like you,” Holly said with a frown. “I was wondering why I trusted you so easily when we first met, but honestly, this makes me feel much better about it.”
Ethan was stunned for a moment before he spoke again. “Holly, are you saying that you think you met another human before me?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying,” Holly replied with a nod.
“Ohhh, that’s neat!” Eddie said enthusiastically. “I bet if we can find him we can find out whether or not he knows how Ethan got here!”
“That’s the idea, yeah,” Holly agreed with a nod.
A wide grin split Ethan’s face. “Awesome! Now all we have to do is get Sarah out of Fillydelphia and then we can focus on trying to find out where this other human went and how he got off of this place!”
“You do realize that that implies that he did get off right?” Eddie asked. “Not to put a damper on the mood or anything, I hate to be that guy.”
Ethan frowned as they walked past an abandoned, run down house. “Point,” he said with a small frown. “But if nothing else investigating this guy could give me some clue on how to get home.”
“Well, I for one hope that we can help,” Day’s voice said unexpectedly from beside him. Ethan started in surprise and turned to see the pegasus hovering beside him.
“Oh, thanks Day, how did the patrol look?” Ethan inquired.
“Clear as far as I could tell... though it seems a bit too quiet out there if you ask me,” Day said with a frown.
The man frowned and looked over their surroundings again for a moment before his eyes picked up something that he’d missed originally. There really was no sign of anyone or anything around them... almost as if they’d all fled.
“Shit,” Ethan grumbled.
“What is it?” Holly asked in a low voice.
“Something, or someone is stalking us, and they’re scaring off everyone else,” Ethan answered with a frown.
“Well, that’s fucking perfect,” the mare said with a frown. “So... Steel Rangers, a Raider War Boss, or the Enclave?”
“It’s not Enclave or the Rangers, even as strong as both groups are, they don’t get this type of reaction,” Day Kicker said. “I can tell, as for Raiders... well they’re much louder than this.”
“Hell hounds?” Holly asked only for Day to shake his head. “We’re not in their territory.”
“Which means-” Ethan began before he pivoted sideways, bringing his shock sword down in a swift arc. “-alicorns,” he finished as a tall blue alicorn appeared, its body protected by a powerful force field.
ENOUGH! A familiar mental voice roared in his head. WE ARE NOT HERE TO HURT YOU!
“LOWER YOUR DAMN VOICE, BITCH!” Ethan shouted back as Day Kicker and Holly winced in pain at the mental yell.
The alicorn regarded him with angry eyes for a moment before the voice spoke again, this time considerably softer than before.
Is this better to your liking? the voice of the Goddess asked with contempt dripping from every word.
“Yeah, much,” Ethan replied with a shake of his head. “Now would you explain just what in the hell you want from us?”
We seek that which is inhabiting your wrist, the alicorn replied.
“Join the club and get in line behind all of the others,” Ethan said with a growl. “Listen up you giant, brahmin twatted bitch! You’re not getting Eddie, and neither are any of the rest of the other people after him! So you can all go straight to hell and suck the Devil’s squiggly little cock!”
The man’s face had taken on something more akin to an angry animal than that of a man.
“I am sick and fucking tired of all you stupid fuckers trying to capture my friends; now get the hell out of my way before I decapitate you and use your head and use it as a codpiece!” he shouted at the alicorn.
We as the Goddess are not afraid of your idle threats, the voice in his mind replied. Now it is time that you hand over the A.I. so that we may be on our way.
“Suck my dick,” Ethan told her before plunging his sword down at the alicorn’s skull. His blade was intercepted by yet another force field, and he was hurled backwards by a blast of telekinesis.
YOU SHALL SURRENDER THE A.I. ONTO US OR WE WILL OBLITERATE YOU FOR YOUR DISRESPECT TO THE GODDESS! the mental voice roared in Ethan’s head as the alicorn approached the downed man.
“FUCK YOU!” Ethan shouted back as he got to his feet, drawing his shotgun and firing off one of the explosive shells. The explosion rippled across the force field and and it shimmered lightly beneath the assault.
Holly pointed her AM rifle at the alicorn but just as she was about to pull the trigger a blast of telekinesis caught her unprepared from the side and she was sent sprawling as another blue alicorn appeared beside where she’d been standing. Holly did her best to roll to her hooves, but another blast of telekinesis blasted her across the chest and she felt the air being forced from her chest.
As Holly struggled to regain her breath Day Kicker pulled down on the trigger of his Gauss rifle and felt it kick as the high velocity round left its chamber, heading for the second alicorn. Unfortunately this too was interrupted by a force field, though this one crumpled inward around the round, not quite breaking but coming close. Before Day Kicker had a chance to fire a second shot the pegasus was thrown bodily through the surprisingly intact glass window of a nearby house.
Ethan’s shotgun roared again but the alicorn he’d been fighting had already disappeared again and the explosive round missed completely. As he spun to the side in an attempt to find it, he caught sight of a green alicorn hovering above them, its eyes and horn lit with green light.
“How did I miss that?” Ethan asked himself as he prepared to shoot the hovering alicorn. A blast of force from behind sent the man rolling forwards and his his face ate concrete. As he raised his head to look up, he saw the towering form of the alicorn looking down at him.
Surrender the A.I.! the alicorn roared at him.
Ethan reached out and grabbed its furry leg. “Na,” he said before he yanked hard, causing the alicorn to stumble forward. The man rose from his downed position and jabbed his sword into the horse’s chest. The result was immediate, and the alicorn disappeared, replaced by a large pile of dust.
There was another result to go along with that, both of the other two alicorns let out terrifying cries of anguish. FOR THAT YOU WILL DIE! the voice of the Goddess roared as both of the other alicorns turned their attention to Ethan and their horns lit with eldritch lightning which they then discharged at him.
“Shit!” Ethan yelped as he attempted to dodge the incoming bolts. He jumped over the first one and it smashed into the ground with a sizzling noise and a shower of chipped concrete. The other bolt nailed him in the back in mid jump and sent Ethan spirling to the side, his body shaking from the power of the bolt.
The green alicorn’s head suddenly exploded as Holly’s Anti Machine Rifle roared. The blue alicorn let out its own scream of pain as it turned and turned on Holly, menace in its eyes.
PITIFUL UNICORN! YOU SHALL BECOME ONE WITH THE GODDESS! the alicorn roared in her mind making Holly shudder at the volume.
There was a loud clang, and the alicorn was sent head over hooves into a highway divider as Day Kicker clambered out of the house with the broken window, blood covering his face and chest. The alicorn impacted into the divider with a loud thud and collapsed in an undignified heap.
“Yeah, no she’s not,” Day Kicker growled, spitting blood out of his mouth.
Ethan struggled to his feet and haphazardly made his way over to the downed alicorn.
“You guys are a bitch to kill,” he informed her. The alicorn attempted to rise, but Ethan smacked it across the flank with his sword eliciting a cry of pain. “Stay down, shut up, and let me talk,” the man growled warningly as he brought the silently hissing shock sword up to its neck.
The alicorn froze where it was.
“That’s better,” Ethan said as he inched his head closer to its ear and whispered into its ear. “You’re going to leave me and all of my friends alone, and you’re going to give up on getting Eddie away from me. If you don’t, I’ll track down wherever your cowardly ass is hiding and blow you the fuck up. Do you understand me?” Ethan whispered in her ear dead serious.
Who are you who seeks to command the Goddess? the voice in his head asked, clearly more perplexed than frightened.
“I’m the man who will do anything to get his love back,” Ethan replied icily as he moved the blade of his sword across the mare’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood. “Now do you understand me?”
The alicorn froze for a moment and then slowly nodded, inadvertently drawing more blood. We understand...
“Good,” Ethan said as he sprang away from the mare’s front and smacked its behind with the flat of his blade. “Now get!”
The alicorn glared at him, though if it was because it was angry or because it was offended Ethan couldn’t tell... though he doubted that it really mattered. Then it rose to its hooves and began to flap off, it didn’t make it very far before Holly’s .50 bullet slashed through the back of its skull and the large blue body crashed to the ground fifty feet away.
“Bitch,” Holly commented as she walked over to Day Kicker to check on his face.
Sarah leaned back against one of the buildings in the mall and let out a long sigh, she’d spent most of the morning after the first incident trying to make friends, none of which was successful. Sometimes she’d been able to get close enough to actually say a few words, but the fearful stares had got the best of her and she’d been forced to retreat.
She didn’t know what it was about pony stares that seemed so intimidating... it was probably how big and innocent the eyes were. Sarah shook her head again and let out another sigh before letting loose an awful cough.
“Where are you Ethan?” she asked the empty air.
As expected, she didn’t receive an answer.
The woman suddenly noticed movement in her peripheral vision. Without making it obvious she turned her head slightly so that she could see who it was. To her surprise it was the little brown pegasus from the morning. He looked very nervous, but Sarah was impressed to see that he was making rather good progress. After several more seconds of silence the small stallion made it up to her and poked her gently in the arm.
“Miss... are you okay?” he asked in a quiet and fearful voice.
Sarah’s eyes flicked all the way open and the stallion recoiled back at her sudden gaze. “Yeah... I’m fine,” she said with a small sigh.
“Oh... that’s... good...” the pegasus said awkwardly.
“I think so anyways,” Sarah agreed with a small smile. “So... how can I help you?”
“Well... I realized that I shouldn’t have run away from you this morning,” the stallion confessed slowly.
“Hey, don’t worry about it, I’m pretty scary,” Sarah replied with a slight chuckle.
“Umm... still you just wanted to make friends... right?” the pegasus asked her haltingly
Sarah nodded and a small smile split her face. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well...” The pegasus trailed off for a moment, looking for the right words. “... I’m Murky.”
"It’s nice to meet you Murky.” Sarah replied, her smile widening. “I’m Sarah Lyons."