Fallout Equestria: Icicle

by PlagenShiki

Chapter 3: Wanderer

After waking up and gathering my things I begin to walk along the road. Before I leave, I make sure to add a marker called Farmland on my PipBuck’s map that marks the shed. Since it has no location data and instead displays a blank map, I figure I might as well start to populate the map with locations. I also add in the locations I can remember, but who knows what has changed in thirty-five years.

I have been walking for an hour or so and the landscape hasn’t changed much. The road was still as broken and twisted as it was and the land around me was lifeless and gray. I am beginning to think that I might be the only one left that is wandering the wasteland. Scrunching up my muzzle, I flip through my PipBuck’s options, finding the radio and begin to switch through the various frequencies.

Most of the frequencies are silent and a few are all static. Not a single one broadcasting anything that sounds even remotely pony-like. Sighing, I continue to walk down the road, continually looking for any signs of life.

The lack of pony and animal life begins to creep me out. If it wasn’t for the sound of my hooves hitting the pavement and the light wind that was occasionally blowing i’d think I was deaf. The stillness around me was almost surreal and felt incredibly wrong. Compared with the liveliness of Canterlot and my lab I had only experienced a few days ago, this was quite unsettling.

“You know Ratchet,” CORA speaks up suddenly, causing me to jump and almost fall to the ground. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” she lets out a playful giggle before continuing. “I know things are quiet and all, but even before the war it would be quiet around here. This is a country road that got little traffic and no towns are around for a few miles. I think you’re only over reacting because we don’t have any transportation and you aren’t used to walking along this road.”

I think over her words for a moment while trying to calm myself down after being startled by her sudden talkativeness. “You’re right,” I say with a nod. “I’ve always traveled this road with others or at least using a car or something. I’m sure there are plenty of ponies closer to a town, right?” CORA nods her head reassuringly.

“If that’s the case, where do you think we should head to CORA?” I ask her. There were plenty of towns around we could venture to. Fillydelphia in the north, Ponyville and Appleloosa to the south, Manehatten and the Shattered Hoof Mining operations to the east. Going west would be a long road to Las Pegasus, so that probably isn’t the best option.

CORE thinks for a moment before she replies with, “Why don’t we check out Ponyville? It is the closest after all. I also have it recorded that a Stable should be near it. If the town is abandoned, or destroyed, perhaps we can find living ponies in the Stable.” CORA nods a few times to herself, reaffirming her decision.

“Good thinking CORA. Let’s see then, we are currently north of the mountains, so the fastest route might be the train tunnel through the mountain. It should just be a mile up ahead or so. From there, we can just follow the tracks and we’ll reach Ponyville.” With a plan in mind, I quicken my pace and begin heading towards where the tracks should be.

As I walk, a thought strikes me, “CORA, do you have records of the locations of all the Stables?” I ask her. If she did, I wanted to know how she learned of them, since a few of them were classified to normal ponies, let alone Artificial Ponies. Not to mention, get them added to my map.
CORA shakes her head, “No, I actually overheard Miss Twilight talking about it. I only know of this one because she said one of the other Ministry Mares was going to be in it. She said that it was on that mare’s farm. I think that means the Stable will be on the Apple family farm, since Miss Applejack is the only one of the Ministry Mares who lives on a farm.”

“Miss Applejack is in that Stable? Does that mean it is a Ministry of Wartime Technology Stable?” I ask her. If that turns out to be the case, I might be able to help out even more than I thought. Especially if they have working technology!

However, CORA shakes her head, “I don’t know Ratchet. Miss Twilight did not mention the other occupants of the Stable. It would seem likely that with Miss Applejack in the Stable her ministry would be with her. However I have no information that would confirm this.”

“I see,” I let out a sigh. “It would be helpful if they are, but I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.” Guessing at it won’t do anything for us, the only thing we can do now is head to Ponyville and see what’s going on. I decide to push this to the back of my mind and instead focus on my surroundings as I continue down the road.

It isn’t long before I see the train tracks crossing the road, reaching them soon after. I begin to follow the tracks south. The tracks have a bit of rust on them and the occasional rail is bent and misaligned from the rest. Given the state of the tracks, I doubt anypony has gotten a train working since the war ended, which means I won’t have to worry about a train coming when i’m in the tunnel.

I follow the tracks for an hour or so until I reach the tunnel entrance. There is a sign next to the tunnel that appears to be broken. I don’t remember if the sign was there before I was frozen, but the remaining half of the sign reads, “wings”. I gaze into the darkness of the tunnel attempting to discern any detail inside, however only a few feet into the tunnel it becomes pitch black and I can’t see anything inside. I swallow as I turn on my PipBuck’s light and begin to walk into the tunnel’s darkness.

Luckily, my PipBuck’s light is strong enough to pierce the darkness a good distance in front of me. However, I can’t help but feel a growing sense of unease. Perhaps it is because I have yet to encounter a single living creature or simply because I’m now in an enclosed space with little room to maneuver in the event I find something nasty in here.

The further in I go and the longer nothing happens, my unease slowly decreases and instead turns to tension. However, after a short distance my light reflects off of something on the ceiling. I stop and turn my attention to it before the sight of it causes me to tense up. Suddenly the world around me slows down and turns an icy blue.

The object I was looking at gets outlined by a dark blue line and various percentages appear near its body parts. In addition to his outline, many other dimmer outlines appear behind the thing I’m looking at. The thing I’m looking at becomes slightly more illuminated and i’m able to make out its features. It looks like a large bat hanging from the ceiling, however its body is grotesque and I can see large fangs in its mouth.

“CORA, what the hell is that thing?” I ask as my panic begins to rise. I can’t seem to move my body, but I can look around. “And what’s going on, why can’t I move?” But while asking these questions, I notice that CORA’s face has disappeared.

A second or so later I see her reappear, only this time with an entire body instead of just a disembodied head. She picks up her hooves and starts shaking them around before setting them down on the floor and beginning to run around my field of vision. “Uh, CORA…?” I speak up. However CORA keeps running around and appears to be actually walking on the ground.

It is almost as if she is a real pony in the world interacting with it. She suddenly jumps up towards the creatures hanging from the ceiling as if to touch them, but thankfully she passes right through them. “Aww,” I hear her say after she lands and stares at her hoof. She then looks at me and begins to walk over.

“Sorry Ratchet, I got excited about having a body and what not. So this is what the world actually looks like? I mean, excluding the blue tinting of course. But i mean, I can actually walk around things and see them from different sides,” she continues to ramble on for a few moments before I clear my throat. “Oh, sorry,” she says while blushing slightly.

CORA then repositions herself a short distance in front of me before clearing her throat, so to speak, and answering my questions, “To begin with, you can’t move because you are in S.A.T.S. or Stable-Tech Arcane Targeting Spell. When you tense up, you enter this mode that will assist you with combat. It essentially speeds up your perception time to allow you more time to decide on your next action. It only seems like things have slowed down but in reality you are just experiencing things faster.”

CORA continues with her explanations, “To answer your other question, I do not know what those creatures are. If I had to conjecture, they are bats that have been mutated with radiation. Judging by the sharp teeth I would say they are carnivorous.”

I take a moment to look at my compass, noticing a large dark blue line directly in front of me. I hadn’t been looking at it while traveling, having not been used to having it there. “CORA, my compass shows a single blue line. Just how many of them are there?” I ask her, “And why didn’t you tell me earlier that something was up ahead!?” I shout at her.

CORA tilts her head as she says, “I figured you noticed and wanted to investigate. After all, it is in your vision, not mine. To answer your other question, I’d estimate a few dozen of them. However, they appear to be nocturnal and are currently sleeping. You can probably walk past them if you aren’t too loud.”

“Oh, by the way,” CORA continues. “You can access your PipBuck systems in SATS too, you just have to think about what you want to access. I would recommend pulling out one of your pistols, just in case you run into a problem while trying to pass them.”

Taking her advice, I think of the inventory screen and my vision is blocked with the inventory screen. I then think of equipping one of the 10 mm pistols and it suddenly appears in my mouth, making me flinch for a moment at the sudden sensation. I think the screen away and see CORA once more.

“So, how do I get out of SATS now? Let me guess, I think it away?” I ask CORA. She gives me a nod and I think things back to normal. The world around me speeds up until it is back to normal. CORA too is back as a disembodied head in my vision, looking quite sad at the loss of her body.

With my body once again under my control, I give a look back up to the bats hanging from the ceiling to make sure they are still asleep before I begin to slowly and carefully walk under them. I think about using my magic to carry the gun at first, however I decide against it since the light from it might rouse the bats. But i leave my PipBuck’s light on to continue illuminating my path and because they seem to not be disturbed by it.

I continue onward making sure to keep off the tracks to prevent any extra loud noises. As i progress the bats are soon left behind I begin to see light coming from the other end of the tunnel. Seeing the way out, I hasten my steps to get to the exit quicker. However, in my haste I stumble and accidentally hit my hoof on one of the rails causing a loud resounding metallic clang.

As I right myself I slowly turn my head to look back at the bats and am greeted with tons of glowing eyes looking right at me. Staring back at them I begin to slowly inch towards the exit before fully turning around and trying to be as quiet as possible while making my way away from the bats.

However, I soon hear the flutter of many wings and I quickly begin to gallop towards the exit with the bats flying after me. I make it about half of the remaining distance before they catch up to me. Taking the gun in my magic, I point it behind me and fire blindly a few times, causing the bats to scatter and fall behind me momentarily.

I continue sprinting while the bats recover and soon are upon me once again. A few of them swipe at me and bite at me, a few managing to cut across my back, neck, and flank. I yell out numerous times while attempting to keep up my pace. Firing a few more shots towards the bats the gun runs out of ammo.

I curse under my breath, knowing I don’t have any spare magazines, just loose ammo. I panic for a moment before I remember SATS and quickly tense up. Time slows to a stop and I quickly equip another of the pistols. Before I close SATS, I decide to try it out on the few bats who have flown ahead of me.

I think about shooting two of the bats in the heads twice, one of which has a 86% chance and the other having a 93% chance. Suddenly I feel time speed back up and the gun in my magic rapidly shoots off four shots. I miss once on the 86% chance bat, but my second shot hits it directly in the head, causing it to drop limply to the ground with a fleshy thump.

The second opponent gets hit with both of my bullets. The first one caught it in the neck and the second one hit more squarely in the head, tearing its head completely off. Its head, and the rest of its body, falls to the floor with the first bats.

Once SATS finishes I immediately continue running and blindly shoot a few more shots back towards the bats, causing them to fall back once again. With the light from the exit rapidly approaching, I keep firing shots at a short interval. As I’m about to exit the tunnel I fire the last bullet in my second gun.

I leap forth from the tunnel, spin around, and bring up SATS. I swap out my used pistol for my the final 10 mm pistol I have and turn my attention to the bats at the entrance of the tunnel. Looking at them, they seem almost panicked, scared even. I que up four more shots on two of the bats and release SATS.

The bats begin to fly around erratically, some getting in the way of my shots. Because of this I hit more than I shot at. Four bats drop to the ground while the other bats frantically fly back into the tunnel. Of the four bats on the ground, three appear to be dead but one continues to move back into the tunnel. I cautiously walk towards it and fire a five more shots at it. Most of them miss, but the final one hits it and it stops moving.

Taking a step back, I look into the tunnel. The bats seem to have returned back into the tunnel. “Do you think I scared them off,” I ask CORA, a cocky smile appearing on my face.

CORA’s expression doesn’t change as she states rather matter-of-factly, “I think they are actually nocturnal and don’t like the sunlight very much. They seemed to have no issue pursuing you after being shot at. The only thing that changed was the sunlight.”

As she attempts to explain this, I think back to the bats I killed and recall the one whose head I literally shot off. Suddenly I feel sick to my stomach and I feel bile begin to rise up in my throat. I quickly raise a hoof to my mouth and trot a little ways into the ditch next to the track before I collapse to my hooves and empty the contents of my stomach.

Some panting later I pull out one of the Sparkle Colas and drink it down to remove the taste of bile from my mouth. Sitting on my haunches, I continue to drink the Sparkle Cola as I survey my surroundings.

Not much has changed, but in the distance towards Ponyville I see the river still flowing. However, the waters appear to be murkier than before. I’d guess that it is highly irradiated and would be a very bad idea to drink, or even get on your skin. In a decade or so, the radioactivity might go down to be non-life threatening, in small amounts anyhow.

I while finishing my drink, I decide to take out another snack cake and eat that as well. I’ve been trying to pace myself when it comes to eating and drinking, however since i just emptied my stomach, I suddenly got hungry.

After finishing my short meal, I look over the rest of my gear. I still have a good amount of food and drink left, but after reloading my guns with the ammo I have, I notice that I have a lack of ammunition. After reloading the 12 round magazine pistols and filling the revolvers’ missing 4 bullets I’m left with a total of twenty-six .32 caliber rounds and seventeen 10 mm rounds to spare.

I also have a random assortment of other gear, but none of it is especially useful if I encounter more monsters like those bats. The next time, I might not be lucky enough to be saved by sunlight. Sighing, and deciding I need a bigger gun and target practice, I repack all of my gear and get back to my hooves.

“Ok CORA, let’s keep going,” I say as I check the time on my PipBuck, seeing that it is about two in the afternoon. “It’ll be late pretty soon. We need to find shelter before then, and it is still a ways to Ponyville,” I add.

With the task of finding a place to stay for the night in mind, I begin once again walking to Ponyville along the rails. In the distance, I can see the bridge that goes over the river. It looks a little worn, but it seems to still be there.

A while later I reach the bridge only to discover it is a bit more than a little worn. While both sides along the banks of the river are intact and only slightly worn, the middle has begun to crumble away. Some fairly large holes have appeared in the bridge and some of the rails have fallen with them.

Luckily, there appears to be enough solid ground left that I should be able to get across. I notice some places where metal roofing or plywood has been used to bridge some gaps across holes in the bridge. “Hey CORA, it looks like there might be actual ponies still alive. Someone had to have put this metal and wood here. They must use this bridge, too,” I say with some hope rising in my voice.

I cross over the patched up bridge and proceed down the tracks towards Ponyville. After a few while I come to a hill that should give me a good view of the town once I get to the top. I hurriedly climb to the top wanting to see it as soon as possible. However, as I crest the top and start to see Ponyville my heart sinks.

The town of Ponyville still stands, however quite a few of its buildings have been completely destroyed and many more are in terrible states. Only a hoof-ful of buildings appear to be intact and defiant against the wasteland’s theme of complete destruction. However, what truly makes my heart sink is that I see no signs of life in the town. It appears to be completely empty.

I begin walking towards it to check it out more closely when I hear something barely audible. I perk up my ears to try and hear it again. There is nothing for a few moments but then I hear it again. It is almost like...a scream? I quickly look around until I catch sight of movement in the town.

From behind a building something ran out and was heading towards the center of town. Curious, yet hopefully, I began to move a bit faster towards the town. The closer I got, the louder the screams. I pick up my pace until I’m just outside the town and I can make out the figure who has since run into the center of the town.

It is a pony! An actual, living pony! A smile spreads across my face and I begin to trot towards them. However, as I do so I begin to hear laughter mixed in with the screams. I stop in my tracks, as the laughter seems...off. After a few moments a few more ponies catch up to the first one I saw, there are five in total now gathered in the center.

I quickly hid behind a building out of instinct as I watch them carefully. The new ponies quickly surround the first one who had fallen and now appears to be flailing their hooves around trying to keep them away as they get closer. The other four are only laughing and getting closer.

A few moments later the four of them stop and just stared at the pony trapped between them. It was in this moment that I saw the four standing ponies were wearing crudely constructed barding and two were holding guns while the other two were holding what looks like wooden planks with nails in them. I could also see that all four of them were filthy and a few of them were missing patches of fur.

As I was getting creeped out of their appearances, one of them began speaking. It was the voice of a stallion, “Well, well, well,” he says playfully, “What do we have here? It would seem that our town has a visitor boys!” The other three let out gleeful yells while the other one continues. “The thing is miss, we don’t take kindly to visitors in our town. Surely you’ve heard about the Track Gang, haven’t you?”

I can’t see the, what I now assume to be a mare, between the other ponies, however judging by the stallion’s response she shook her head. “What? You haven’t? You been living under a rock or something?” He growls at her. “We’re the baddest gang this side of Foal Mountain, you see. We rule the tracks that pass through Ponyville and we charge a fee to everypony who passes through our territory.”

It is hard to see from this distance, but I think he shakes his head as he continues, “And you refused to pay that fee. You ran from us, and our boss doesn’t take kindly to travelers who refuse to pay our fee. In fact, he says we can kill anypony who doesn’t pay up, you see.” The others around him laugh as he says this.

The mare screams out, “NO! Please, I’ll pay you! Just let me go! I’ll give you everything I have!” By this point my own body is shaking and i’ve put a hoof to my muzzle to stop myself from making any noise. I want nothing more than to help her, but with four of them and one of me, not to mention i’m lousy with guns and two of them appear to have assault rifles...I won’t make it very far. The only thing I can do now, is watch this horrible scene play out and how they decide to let her go.

The stallion who has been talking lets out a laugh at the mare’s words before he says, “Of course you will pay. I honestly think it would be a waste to kill you. But, it is too late to give us your caps.” Caps? What does he mean by caps? While wondering this he continues, “When I first saw you, I hoped that you would run from us. You see, when travelers don’t have any caps to pay with, we find other ways to get our money’s worth.”

The stallion’s companions let out snickers as he continues, “But our boss doesn’t really like that, since it’s another mouth to feed, you know. We can’t just have travelers going through without paying the price though. Normally, we have them pay off their debt through manual labor, but i’ve taken a liking to you, miss. So, I’ll tell you what. I’ll pay your fee for you,” he announces to her.

I can hear the hope in her voice when she says, “R-really?” However what the stallion says next crushing that hope instantly.

“Of course! In exchange, you can become my pet for the rest of your life! The boss might not take kindly to this at first, but i’ll make him understand. Or, i’ll just take things over from him, right boys!” The other around him let out excited yells once again.

When the mare speaks again I can hear the hopelessness in her voice, “N-no, you can’t! Please, just let me go. I’ll do anything!” The stallion just shakes his head and gives an extremely toothy grin. Surprisingly, his teeth are extremely white considering how dirty his coat appears to be.

“Oh, I know you will miss. You’ll be the best pet of all time, right?” The stallion lets out a laugh before suddenly changing tone and addressing the three other gang members, “Take her to my place boys, and give the boss all the caps she has. Give him my regards and inform him of my intentions. Tie her up so she won’t go escaping, alright? And if any of you touch her before I do, you won’t like the consequences. Understand?” He growls out.

The three of them take a step back in fear and nod quickly, picking the mare up from the ground and starting to drag her away. But the leading stallion shakes his head again and yells at one of them, “Damn it, Gearbox, you stay with me. We still have to finish our patrol. And you two! When you’re done, come find me. Don’t go slacking off like you usually do.”

One of them turns back around and walks towards the one shouting commands. While the other two drag the mare off down a street that’s out of my view the two remaining thankfully begin walking away from my direction. I wait for a few moments after I lose sight of them before sliding down the wall and onto my haunches.

I begin panting for breath, not realizing until now I had been holding it in. As I do so I stare at my hooves which are shaking uncontrollably. “I couldn’t do anything,” I mutter. “For all my talk of wanting to help Equestria, I couldn’t do anything to help a single mare…” I trail off.

I notice CORA trying to get my attention and shift my eyes to her face. “There was nothing you could do Ratchet, not against four of them, not now. Perhaps one day, but under these circumstances, hiding was the only correct choice of action! If you would have went out there, you would have been captured too, or even died! How would you help Equestria then Ratchet?” She practically shouts at me.

I look away from her as I think on her words before I respond. “You’ve got a point, CORA. Its just that...How can I help Equestria like this? I wasn’t expecting criminal organizations, just struggling civilizations. What if…” I bite my lip before continuing, “What if war hasn’t ended here in Equestria? I know there are ponies now, but it seems they are turning on one another, not working together.”

My resolve is quickly diminishing, but CORA continues to encourage me. “Even if they are turning on each other, we just have to find the side of justice and lawfulness and help them! Surely if these ponies here exist, other do as well. Kinder ones too! We just have to keep going. Perhaps we can come back here one day and save that mare too!” CORA announces.

Her encouragement makes me smile slightly and shake my head. I then take my hooves and hit the sides of my head with them. “Right!” I say, remembering to stay quiet. CORA looks at me with surprise on her face. “You’re right CORA, we just have to keep going. And we will find a way to help that mare too.”

I get to my hooves and decide I should probably start by leaving Ponyville. As I do so, I recall the features of the mare that I am able to. She had a brown coat and a blonde mane, I don’t think she was that tall either, maybe about my height. Storing her in my memories, I address CORA, “So, you said there was a Stable around here that Applejack might be in?”

CORA nods, “Yes Ratchet. I think I recall hearing it was on her farm?” I try to recall the layout of Ponyville and I think I remember her farm being on the other side of the town. But, with the Track Gang, as they call themselves taking up residence here, I should probably walk around the town to try and avoid them.

I voice my plan to CORA who agrees and adds that we should probably remain as quiet as possible while we do so. Keeping this in mind I make my way out of town and begin to navigate the hills and plains around Ponyville, working my way towards Applejack’s farm and hopefully the Stable she is in, if she is even still alive. She could have died from old age for all I know. But nevertheless, I continue on.

About an hour later I arrive at the orchard and begin to search for the Stable. Without the leafy trees I can easily determine there isn’t an entrance in the orchard itself. All of the trees that remain are charred husks, some even uprooted and fallen over. I make my way towards the farmhouse and barn to search them.

I first look at the farmhouse, which is half crumbled away. How the other half remains standing is beyond me. However, I do not notice anything as I look in the gaping hole the house has. I decide to check the cellar if it, just to be sure.

After going around to the side of the house and opening the cellar door, however, i’m greeted by a wall of rubble preventing me from entering. Considering the state of the house, i’m not that surprised the cellar has caved in. I let out a sigh and decide to investigate the barn.

It is in better condition than the farmhouse is and only a bit of the roofing and walls are damaged. I move to the barn door and carefully open it, remember the last time I opened a random building’s door and nearly got buried in its collapse. Once the door was open, and I decide there was no threat of it collapsing, I enter.

Looking around the immediate area, I don’t notice anything out of the ordinary and no other doors aside from a locked hatch leading down to what I assume is an apple cellar. The barn has rotting hay scattered around and some rusted tools, but nothing else of note. I decide I should take a look at the apple cellar and move to inspect the lock.

It look a simple enough lock, so I got one of the bobby pins from my bags and set about trying to pick the lock. Now, I’ll admit I didn’t have much practice at doing this sort of thing. In fact, I had only read up on how to do it on a whim. I used to be quite good at it though. At the moment I think this, my pin breaks.

“Ugh,” I sigh, “emphasis on used to be…” I get another pin and begin working on the lock once more. I repeat this process three more times and break a total of four bobby pins, half of what I have with me. But when the lock finally clicks open I shout triumphantly, “Huzzah!” before I take the lock from the door and put it in my bags along with the pin i used.

I proceed to open the old wooden hatch. The space under it is only slightly illuminated by the outside light, so I turn on my PipBuck’s light as I enter down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is, as expected an apple cellar. I let out a disappointed sigh as I look at all the, now rotted, apple goods down here. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy to find the Stable entrance.

I try to think of where else the entrance could be on the farm as I go around looking at the shelves of storage. However, while I look at one particular shelf I notice the lighting of my PipBuck on the wall seems to be broken, as if it is seeping into a crack or something. My curiosity piqued, I go to inspect the shelf.

It looks just like the others with various apple goods on it. However, once I give it a hard nudge I realize it isn’t connected to the other shelves or wall. Raising an eyebrow, I pull the shelf from the wall with my magic and walk around it to inspect the wall for cracks. But what I find isn’t a crack, but a gaping hole. More of a hallway really.

I gaze inside of the hallway cautiously before I take my first step inside it. The hallway itself is made of the same materials as the rest of the cellar, but the deeper I get the more I realize just how odd it is. It isn’t long before I arrive at the end of the hallway.

On the wall in front of me, standing in stark contrast to the rest of the hallway and cellar is a steel wall with a large steel gear bulkhead in it. The number two has been painted in the middle of the bulkhead. I blink in amazement of actually finding the stable here. However my amazement quickly turns sour when I notice the scratches and slight dents on the Stable’s door. They look like hoof marks.

I then take a cautious look at the ground around the door for the first time and see what caused the marks. The bones of numerous ponies lay strewn about before the door. Ponies from thirty-five years ago who had been locked out and left to die. I swallow and say a prayer for them, decades too late.

Turning my attention back to the task at hand, I notice the panel beside the door and go over to it. It should be the controller, but they should require a password, if they are anything like the doors to my lab. I think for a moment, then decide to just knock on the door.

“Hello?” I call to the other side of it. “Can anyone hear me? Is anyone there? My name is Ratchet, a researcher for the Ministry of Magic. I’ve come to help, is anyone there?” I wait for a few moments before knocking again. “Hello? Hello!” I wait again, but there is still no response.

Taking a step back and inspecting the door and panel again, I remember another function the panels have. They can act as intercoms. I hoof at the intercom button on the panel and start again. “Hello? This is Ratchet, a researching of the Ministry of Magic. Is anyone there?” I let go of the button and wait for a response.

However, none comes after moments of waiting. I try it again, “Hello? Is anyone there? Is this functioning properly? The panel seems to have power, so you should hear me. Hello?” I ask again, a bit of panic rising up inside me. I wait for a good few minutes before I try it again. “Anyone? Is anyone there? My name is Ratchet, I’ve come to help!”

Again, no response. Starting to panic, I press it again. “Please! Is anyone there? Miss Applejack! Are you there?” She should know me, I rationalize. She assigned some rangers to me, after all. I take my hoof off the button and wait once more.

Suddenly, I hear a crackle and a mare’s voice comes over the speaker, “Leave.” It says simply. Confused, I hoof at the button again and explain myself further. I take my hoof away and wait for another response.

After a short pause, one comes through. “She’s dead. Leave.” Was all that the mare said. I was left speechless for a moment. She doesn’t mean Applejack does she? It has been thirty-five years, but I still had some hope. She must just be confused. Perhaps there is some sort of connection issue. I hoof at the button again.

“Who’s dead? Miss Applejack?” I ask, taking my hoof off the button and waiting for a response. None comes even after five minutes of waiting. I try again and again to get another response, never receiving anything further.

After an hour of trying and getting nothing, CORA finally speaks up. “Ratchet!” She shouts at me after I have began to get desperate. “They aren’t going to let us in. We should go. Something might have happened and we can’t do anything from out here. We need to find a place to rest of the night, it’s getting late.” She informs me.

I glance at the clock on my PipBuck and see that it is in fact getting late. “Maybe you’re right CORA. They haven’t said anything else other than ‘Leave’ really. I guess they must have their reasons. But i’m so close. Ponies are just on the other side of this door!” I shout.

“I know Ratchet, but if they don’t open the door we can’t do anything. Let’s just go.” CORA says, attempting to keep me going. I let out a sigh as I turn from the Stable.

“Fine, let’s find some place to go for the night.” I make my way out of the hallway and push the shelf back against the hallway entrance. “I might as well help to hide the Stable again, right?” I mutter. I climb the stairs and relock the hatch as well.

I consider staying the night in the barn, however it isn’t quite late enough to sleep yet. I’d also like to get on the way to my next destination. After learning Ponyville had been taken over by a gang, I contemplated where I should go next. I decided that i’d head to the east and see if I can find anypony over in Manehatten, Fillydelphia, or Baltimare, or anywhere along the way for that matter.

With my destination in mind I leave the barn and begin to head back to the tracks I came from. I make sure to give to town a wide berth to avoid the gangsters catching sight of me. It isn’t long before I am able to see the tracks.

As I get near to them, however, I suddenly hear a loud whistle. I freeze in my tracks and look around. In the direction of the town, I see four ponies galloping towards me. My hooves begin to shake and I feel my pulse increasing. It is the same four ponies from the Track Gang I saw earlier.

Unable to force myself to run they soon catch up to me and the one who talked previously addresses me. “Well, well, well,” he says playfully once more, “What do we have here? It would seem that our town has a visitor boys!” The other three chuckle as they surround me. “That’s some fancy barding you’re wearing, miss.” A grin spreads across his muzzle.

‘T-Thank you.” I stutter out, rousing another round of chuckles from the other three. Their leader steps forward and continues.

“Of course miss. However, we have some business to take care of. This here is our territory, you see. And you owe us a fee for traveling through it. It isn’t much, don’t you worry,” he flashes another smile. “For the small fee of 200 caps, you’re free to go.”

There’s that word again, “Caps?” I ask. “What do you mean by caps?” The four of them look at each other before bursting out laughing. I raise an eyebrow as they collect themselves, the leader being the first to do so.

“You know, Caps. Money, moolah, BOTTLE CAPS darling! The currency of the wasteland!” He declares with a hearty yell. “Now, fork them over and we’ll go on our way. If not,” he pauses, “We’ll be taking you with us.”

Bottle caps? That’s the currency they are using? What happened to Bits? I push these thoughts from my head momentarily due to my current situation. “I think that I have...one cap,” I say hesitantly.

“One? You have one cap on you? Hah, hah. Well then, you’re gona have to come with us. Grab her boys,” he commands the others which begin to close in on me. However, I quickly tense up, bringing up SATS.

“Ok, so it is either get captured for an unknown duration and do who knows what, or try to fight them off. Right CORA?” I ask for her opinion on the matter while bringing up my inventory screen and equipping one of the 10 mm pistols.

CORA ponders this for a moment before saying, “Fight them. There is no telling how long they will detain you for. Just, use the system as much as you can. Hit the ones with guns first.” Agreeing with her, I line up my shots, putting two on the leader, and two on the other one with a gun. At this range my chance to hit them in the head is 98%.

I initiate the program and it takes over my body momentarily. Two shots goes off at the leader, one of them hits him in the eye and he jerks quickly, throwing off the second shot which hits his rifle sending it flying from his muzzle.

The next two shots hit the other stallion in the head one after the other. Punching two holes through his skull. As time quickly catches up he falls to the ground limply and the leader is grabbing his eye in agony. I turn as fast as I can towards the other two, barely dodging the board one swings at me.

Once I’m facing them, I pull up SATS again. I attempt to que up shots on them like before, however it won’t let me. “CORA, what’s going on? Why can’t I shoot at them?” I ask her with both confusion and worry in my voice.

“You used up all your Action Points. See the meter in the bottom right? That shows how many points an action will cost. It seems you can only shoot your pistol four times before it runs out. They will regenerate over time, however. But until then, you’re on your own,” she informs me, a hint of worry in her voice.

With that option gone, I take a moment to evaluate the situation. One is dead, their leader is incapacitated atm, and two remain. One has just swung at me and will take a few moments to recover, and the other one has gone wide eyed at his dead companion. I decide my next course of action will be to run at him.

Canceling SATS, I push my hooves off the ground and charge at my target, tackling him to the ground. However, his wooden plank’s nails scrape across my sides, cutting me and catching me off guard. He flails around for a moment before swinging the plank at me and batting me off of him, sending me sprawling to the ground.

I regain my senses just as his friend swings his plank for my head. I quickly roll to the side and scramble to my hooves as the first one does the same. I quickly shoot off three shots towards him, catching him in the leg and chest and sending him back to the ground. I can tell he is still alive however.

Wasting no time, his friend swings for me again, but I can’t dodge this time and he hits me in the side, stabbing the nails into me. I let out a scream as I tense up into SATS again. As I do so, the pain fades away a bit. “Ratchet! Are you OK!?” CORA shouts out as soon as I enter it.

“It’s not too bad, better than a gunshot, I think. Though, I wouldn’t know how that feels either. I’ve certainly never fought anypony before…” I respond, flinching slightly at the pain. I look at my Action Points and see they have recovered slightly. I try to que up a shot on my attacker again, succeeding this time. However, I only manage to que up one.

I confirm and close SATS, sending the bullet at his head. It catches him in the jaw as he finishes his swing into me, ripping his jaw completely off and leaving the wooden plank hanging in my side. He stumbles back wide eyed as I use my magic and tear the plank from my side and follow through with the force of it, smacking him in the head with it before it falls from my magic.

After ripping it from my side, I suddenly feel the full pain of it and fall to my knees, slipping into SATS once more. Time slows to a crawl as I feel the pain slowly subsides temporarily. Wincing slightly, I look around at what’s going on with my opponents.

The stallion I just shot and hit is lying on the ground barely moving. The other melee fighter is trying to stop his bleeding. One is dead, and finally their leader is...missing? I don’t see him in my scope of vision and he isn’t where I shot him at. Panic wells up in me as I decide to deactivate SATS and look around.

As soon as I do the pain returns, accompanied by a loud shout, “YOU BITCH!” I am then tackled to the ground, my bags and gun sent flying. On top me of is the leader of the group, blood streaming from his right eye and a hole on the right side of his head. It then dawns upon me that I must have just hit his eye and passed the bullet through the side of his head instead of delivering a defeating blow.

He quickly starts to pound away at my head with his hooves. “I don’t know how you did this, you witch, but you’ll pay for it. You shoot me, destroy my favorite rifle, kill my best friend, and injure two of my underlings? Oh, you will know pain now. I’m going to keep you alive and play with you until you’re begging for death!” He shouts at me while pinning my hooves down.

His blood begins to drip down onto my face as he leans over me. I look at him in fear as I try desperately to use my magic to grab something, anything from my bags. I find something and quickly pull it out and point it at him. But he sees it coming and starts laughing.

“What are you going to do with that pen? Write me a letter?” He mocks me. Too late do I notice I have the pen from my bags instead of something I could use to actually fight him off with. I look up at him defiantly for a moment and I thought strikes me.

I don’t know what made me think of this but I suddenly remember a quote, “W-Well, you know what they say,” I choke out, a small grin spreading on my muzzle, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

He looks at me with a stoic expression on his face before bursting into laughter. “You know what? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. No simple pen is going to-” However, before he can finish there is suddenly a loud gunshot. I hear the sound of impact and the thump of a body in the direction of one of the stallion’s companions.

Immediately after another gunshot and another impact sounds from the other gangster I had injured. “What in the fuck?” The stallion holding me down exclaims as he looks around. “You had friends?” He seems to notice something in the distance as his eyes grow wide as he says, “Oh shit, those are-” but can’t finish his sentence as a bullet finds it way through his skull.

He falls on top of me, but my vision has started to darken as the blood loss and strikes to my head catch up to me. I try to push him off me and see who killed him, but I can’t find the strength to do so. As my vision grows darker I can barely hear CORA calling out my name.

“Ratchet! Ratchet!”

Level Up! (Level 2)
+10 Small Guns
+8 Lockpicking

New Perk:
Swift Learner: +10% XP whenever XP is earned.