Steel awoke to a light red stallion kicking him in the stomach.
"Wake up!" He shouted in an impatient voice. Steel shouted in pain as the stallion kicked him once more and slowly got to his hooves. Most of the other prisoners were already awake, including Gear. There were five guard ponies walking around the containment room, most hitting the sleeping prisoners awake, some softly shaking them. Steel took a mental note of the kinder guards and looked around. By the gate was a pale yellow mere wearing an old, battered helmet. He noticed Steel who quickly looked away. Once everypony was awake the pale yellow mere began to speak.
"Welcome to Blood Field." She said with no intention of politeness. Her voice was surprisingly soft but still got across the point that she wouldn't tolerate any misbehavior. "Today you will begin working. You will work hard, you will be fed very little, you will be hit and you won't complain." Everypony nodded. "I need everypony to get in a line." Within seconds a line had formed, everypony trying to complete the mere's orders as quickly as possible. The pale yellow pony began to walk back and forth in front of the gate. "You will each be assigned two jobs, one to do in the morning and one to do in the afternoon. You will have a three minute break between jobs. If you have any questions, keep them to yourself." The pale yellow pony left the containment room, a different light blue stallion taking her place.
"Follow me." Said the stallion in a slightly higher pitched voice. The line of ponies followed. Outside the containment room was the bright sun, shining over the mostly empty town. A few ponies were awake and walking about the town, though the ponies who weren't asleep did have bags under their eyes. This place isn't really as bad as I thought it would be. Steel thought, but he thought too soon. A guard whacked him over the back of the head, making him jump as his vision went black briefly, as though he had gotten light headed from standing up too quickly.
"Pay attention!" Yelled the guard. Steel snapped to attention and looked towards the mere in the helmet. She pointed to the first pony in line.
"Starting with you, every other pony step forward." Alternating ponies stepped forwards, leaving Steel and the other half of the line behind, Gear had stepped forwards, looking stern and proud. "You are going to tend the gardens. Everypony else is going to clean up the litter on the streets." The mere paused as two guards walked over to the line of ponies, with a blanketed pony between them, the blanket covering the ponies face. The yellow mere smirked. "Right now our town seems rather nice. But if you struggle, complain, try to escape or cause any sort of trouble." She tapped her hoof on the ground and one of the guards lifted the blanket off of the pony.
It was the mint green Pegasus, large blue welts above the Pegasus's eyes had forced them shut, the Pegasus had begun trying to speak but all he could produce were slurs and slobber. When her mouth opened, Steel saw the pink of her gums which lacked teeth and the bloody stump of a tongue. She bent down slightly as she tried to speak, revealing the roughly bandaged stumps where her wings used to be. Steel tried his hardest not to vomit.
"Any questions?" Asked the yellow mare. Nopony answered. "Good, gardeners will follow Clash and the others will follow Shield." The yellow mere gestured to two guards and the two groups went on their way.
Steel cleaned for hours, wiping up filth and picking up trash, putting the litter in the bag he was given. The few ponies wandering around the streets didn't hesitate to heckle, kick and spit on Steel and the other workers. Steel ignored them, as hard as that was. He didn't bother with pride much, in the wasteland you're going to have to do some bad things, no sense in thinking you're better than doing worse. His father had spoken these words and Steel took them to heart. He was a wise old stallion, and he knew what he was talking about.
After the cleaning shift he was given a cup of dirty water and a small chunk of bread, it was stale and a few spots were molded. After his break he went to the gardens where he plowed the fields, planted seeds and watered the soil. If you could even call it soil, it was dry, cracked dirt. But good soil was rare these days, Steel had seen maps of the Old World, there had once been a forest where Blood Field now stood. Which meant the soil was capable of sustaining plant life and wildlife alike, he heard legends of horrible creatures creeping from the forest and attacking the nearby town. Of course all of those monsters were dead now, ponies were the real monsters.
He finished his shifts and was brought back to the containment room with everypony else. It was nearly dark. Gear was waiting for Steel on his mattress, he was looking at the ground, a bruise on his forehead. Steel moved to him as groaning ponies laid down, resting their aching hooves, knees, backs, and other various body parts.
"What happened?" Asked Steel, gesturing to the bruise. Gear gave Steel a curious look, as though he didn't expect kindness.
"I was doing my work twice as well as anypony else and a guard hit me and told me to go faster." Gear shook his head, "But it's not important." Steel snapped to attention, he wanted to prove to Gear that he could do what he promised. Gear noticed and Steel saw a strange emotion in his eyes. But he couldn't tell if he had appreciated his willingness to learn or was just resisting the urge to make a sarcastic comment.
"So where do we start?" Said Steel with confidence.
"Well," Gear began to walk to a corner of the containment room, where the ponies were scarce, as to not be overheard. "First, I want you to tell me the few basic rules you have about the wasteland." Steel looked a little surprised. "Almost every pony has a set of basic principals they follow, I want to know yours." Steel paused before nodding and trying to remember what his father had told him.
"Well I have three." Gear stood up and began pacing. "One, don't accept favors unless it's a dire emergency but don't hesitate t do some." Gear nodded curtly.
"Simple but a good idea." Steel nodded, not knowing how to feel about that comment.
"Two, find something you're good at. Depending on how good you are, ponies will pay you for services."
"Mmmm... Okay." Gear hummed. Steel shook his head lightly and continued.
"And three, in the wasteland, there's nopony you can trust, you'll be taking a big risk whenever you join forces with somepony." Gear stopped at this.
"Incorrect." He said shortly. Steel looked up, confused and a little hurt.
"What?"
"Incorrect. Negative, wrong." He listed. "There are lots of ponies you can trust in the apocalypse... That's why we keep killing each other. We all have the same morals but then we have a small argument or ponies in our past have fought so we start killing each other. We all want to survive, sure some of us are willing to do more to stay alive, but either way, we all want to survive. Group leaders are strange here. We have ponies on our side; the more good things we do, the more loyal ponies we get. But then some other guy comes along, he's acting all charming and he's doing good things to get loyal ponies as well. On the outside we say they're monsters, murderers, but on a subconscious level we know they have good morals as well, but they need to be killed. In the wasteland, ponies are power. And you can't risk having some random pony steal your power. We all say we're good and everypony else is bad, but that's nowhere near true. So there's no point in trying to pretend you're the only angels in this Hell." Gear sat back down, a satisfied look on his face.
"So what about you?" Steel asked, uncertain he wanted to know the answer to his question.
"What?"
"What are your morals, what are you willing to do?" Gear stopped and thought.
"I'm just trying to survive." They sat in silence for a few moments before Steel remembered something.
"You lived through the war." He stated.
"Yes," Gear nodded, "And?"
"Tell me about it." Gear tilted his head slightly. "Knowledge about the war might help out there."
"I suppose you're right." He stood up and began pacing once more. "Let's begin."
"Celestia had begun favoring Unicorns highly above Earth Ponies and Pegasi. She saw the magic and potential in Unicorns but was blind to the power the other two races had. Slowly, Equestria began to change. Unicorns were given special privileges, Pegasi were treated as commoners, Earth Ponies were mere slaves. A new government was formed, Celestia barely did any work. Instead a new group of all Unicorns called The Unicorn Council took care of all requests the other two races had. They were racist and spoiled, so over time the Pegasi became fed up with the Unicorns ruling everything.
Leaders rose and protests started. The Pegasi asked for the rights they once had and the Unicorns refused, they said things are the way they should be and they're going to stay that way. The protests turned into a heated political argument, Pegasi began working with some Earth Ponies who were on their side. The Earth Ponies provided new technology and weapons, slowly a rebellion formed. Everypony knew a war would come, now it was merely a matter of what side the Earth Ponies were on. The Unicorns offered funding for new technology and a decrease on taxes. The Pegasi offered full rights, to be treated equally as they once were.
Naturally the Earth Ponies chose the Pegasi and a war began. The Earth Ponies gave the Pegasi new weapons, though Unicorns had magic, they couldn't keep up with the sudden outburst of technology the Pegasi had been given, so they referred to different kinds of magic. Three alicorn princesses poured their magic into orbs, creating the first Unicorn Bombs. Without their magic the three Alicorns were powerless, frail, weak. They died easily but one princess stood resolute. Princess Cadence continued to fight until she died in battle.
Once she was gone, Equestria fell into the hooves of the Pegasi. There were still thousands of Unicorns alive, hidden away underground. Over the years, powerful unicorns made more unicorn bombs and used them but they were no where near as powerful as the first three. The war lasted seventeen years. It was a holocaust, complete genocide. After the war, eleven major cities were built and placed under the control of a Pegasus who had fought in the war. They were given masks, some say it's to hide the scars, others say it's a symbol of shame.
During the war, Canterlot, Ponyville, Cloudsdale, Manehattan, Baltimere, Fillydelphia and Los Pegasus were lost. But the Pegasi and Earth Ponies started again, eleven major cities were built and placed under the control of a Pegasus who had fought in the war. Cities like Pit, Icemore, Steam City, Pure Falls, Craterville and others. The land between the cities are baron. Or at least I think they are, I haven't seen outside of Craterville since the war, but all that I've seen on the way here shows that ponies could be out there. Even for an old pony like me, there's still a lot to learn." Gear finished. Steel lowered his head, taking in all of this new information and attempting to commit it to memory.
"I think I got it." He spoke, uncertainly. Gear chuckled softly.
"You'll get it eventually."
"So these unicorn bombs." Steel brought up, "Did you see them get set off?" Gear began to stare at the floor again.
"Only one." He said, deep in pools of memory. "That was the last time I saw the moon and the stars." Steel looked at him, confused. He had heard of the moon and was told the sun was a star. His father told him stories, the sky went black and a thousand tiny suns dotted the sky, a large white orb hung in the sky. Back when Steel was afraid of the dark, he was scared of the night, so his father told him about how you could see the galaxy if you were lucky. A beautiful mix of blue and purple lights was splashed across the night sky like food coloring.
Gear noticed Steel's look of confusion and stood.
"As you know, here the sun never sets." He explained.
"Yes."
"Do you know why it ever sets?" Steel recalled the story of the sister princesses.
"There were two sisters, one dark and one light, but both good. " Steel paused, he had just realized he didn't know much else about the two princesses. He had imagined them as a fairy tale until now. He always knew they were real, but he seemed to forget they had personalities and feelings. "They were given the job to raise and lower the sun and the moon." He continued.
"Their names were Celestia and Luna." Gear had begun walking back to his mattress. "The bomb I saw detonate was made by Princess Luna herself. When it exploded, a large shockwave engulfed he land and the sky went dark. Shortly after the detonation, Princess Luna was killed. Princess Celestia kept the moon raised for six days, as a memory of what used to be." Steel sat down on his mattress, almost in shock. They did have feelings. They laughed and cried and fought. They were sisters. And then the war. Gear groaned and placed a hoof on his throat.
"My voice is sore kid." He laid down, making sure to avoid the large stain. "We should get some sleep." Steel followed Gear's orders and laid down as well.
"And then the war." Steel murmured. They sat in silence as ponies around them began to fall asleep. "Hey Gear?" Steel whispered.
"Yeah kid?"
"Do you think I'll be able to do this?" Gear paused before sitting up slightly and looking at Steel.
"I think you've got a lot to learn and I think you've got a lot of beliefs you need to drop." Steel looked disheartened, Gear sighed. "But I think you've got heart. Wisdom is born from a foolish mind that is willing to learn. My goal is to teach you how to make the right choices no matter the situation. The question is, are you willing to learn?" They sat in silence once more before Gear turned back over and feel asleep.
"Am I?" Steel whispered, before drifting into uncertain sleep.
Steel was in a metal chair, his hooves were held down with thick leather straps and a metal head brace held his vision straight. He was surrounded by darkness, but the shadows seemed to move. The silence seemed loud with the anticipation of ponies he couldn't see. There was a loud Thunk and florescent lights eradicated the darkness. There was a small table in front of him, a shiny revolver lying on it's side in the center. Once his eyes adjusted, Steel looked around the table. To his left was Dale, strapped to a chair just like Steel. To his right was Cable, strapped down as well. Directly across from Steel, was Iron Rose. She was looking at Steel, terrified but also happy to see him. The voice of Ignatius Blackwood echoed through the hall, sending shivers down Steel's spine.
"Steel," He sounded as though he felt pity for Steel, but he knew it was all an act. "You're in quite the predicament. But I tell you what," Ignatius stepped forward from the shadows, a grin on his face. "I'll give you a choice."
Steel began to struggle, trying to break free from his bonds, he just wanted to hit Ignatius, he didn't care where or how, just as long as Ignatius felt pain. The strap over Steel's right hoof came loose and he reached out for Ignatius so forcefully it caused his chair to tilt slightly, but he was too far away. Steel attempted to speak, scream, something, but his throat wouldn't produce any sound.
"I'm sure you're familiar with this game." Ignatius moved to the table in the center of Steel and his friends and touched the gun gently. "You can either leave the lives of your friends in the hands of the fates," He whacked the handle of the revolver causing it to spin rapidly. "Or," He slammed his hoof down on the gun, stopping it's rotation with the barrel pointed straight at Steel's chest. "You can choose who dies."
Steel stopped struggling, his friends all looking at him with the same expression of terror and sick curiosity.
"Your experiences will influence your decision." This time it wasn't Ignatius speaking. It was the voice of Gear who stepped out of the darkness and stood next to Ignatius who didn't seem to notice. "Make the right choice."