Chapter 35 - Singularity

“For the first time, I was truly alone.”

===~+~===

New Appleloosa is a decent sized down. The settlement is surrounded by boxcars for defence and most of the buildings themselves are made from train cars or parts from train cars. Various train tracks run through the town and a few trains even still operate, or so Cora told me. The settlement itself is only a few hours from Ponyville, so it was a logical place to head to, since it is on the way to Icicle Lab anyhow.

Cora had also told me about Old Appleloosa, the one I am familiar with. However, it is now apparently a slaver hub. I very briefly considered going there and killing all of the slavers, freeing the slaves, that sort of thing. But the thought of it didn’t sit well with me. It would be like seeing a whole town slaughtered, like in the Badlands. For now, I decided that I will focus on raiders.

First this is first, however. I need to sell things and get resupplied. I wander around the town till I find a store with the name Absolutely Everything. Making my way inside, I look around at the various items and equipment lying around on tables and crates and...well basically anything that could hold items on it. Ponies are milling about looking at the items. I spy things ranging from old magazines to rocket launchers and everything in between. Just like the name implies, I suppose.

Behind what I assume is the counter, is a pegasus ghoul mare. I walk over, assuming she is the owner. “Hello there,” I say with a smile. “I’m looking to trade some things.”

“No problem,” The mare says with a smile. Despite her being a ghoul she looks kind of...familiar. “What can I help you with?” She asks.

“Well, I would like to sell this stuff,” I tell her as I start pulling out the items I took from the Radscorpions. “And I would like to stock up on 32 caliber bullets and some healing potions.”

She looks over the items and nods, then ducks behind the counter for a moment before setting four healing potions and two boxes of ammo on the counter. “I can give you this for all of that. How does that sounds?” She asks with a tilt of her head. Her eyes are a bit...off.

“Yea, that will…” But then it clicks. I think I remember who she is. “Say...you look familiar. Are you...that mare that owned...oh what was it called,” I mutter, rubbing my temple with a hoof. “Ditzy Doo Deliveries? In Cloudsdale, right?” I ask.

Her eyes get a bit wider and her mouth opens in surprise. “How do you know that?” She asks.

“So you are? That would make you Ditzy, correct?” I ask, she nods. “It is actually kind of a complicated story. Long story short, I’m from before the war ended, like you. Except I survived in a chamber that preserved my body and mind. It was an MAS experiment I was conducting.” I explain.

I nod. “Yep. It is too bad that things ended how they did. Mutual destruction and what not,” I mutter. She keeps blinking at me. “You don’t believe me, do you?” I ask her and she answers with a sheepish grin. “Well, that’s understandable. Anyway, I uh...this trade will work,” I tell her with a forced smile.

“Okay,” Ditzy replies with a happy grin and starts taking the items I put on the counter off. I follow her lead and put the potions and ammo into my bags. “Thank you for shopping at Absolutely Everything, please come again,” She says with a bright smile as she finishes clearing the counter.

“Thank you, I will if I’m in the area,” I reply as I start walking away. As I reach the exit, I let out a sigh. Telling ponies about my past usually leads to disbelief, but when Cora is around it usually is just a matter of her opening up the armor and they believe my story. For the most part, anyway. Not that I go around telling ponies about my past very often though. But, who would have thought I’d run into another pony from back then now, even if she is a ghoul. And she is still running a business too. I can’t help but smile at that.

My next stop is the local bar. I’ve heard that bars sometimes handle bounties, but even if this one does, it will still be a good place to get information. I just need to be pointed in the direction of the next group of raiders.

Behind the counter is a tan mare with an orange mane. She pulls a bottle from behind the counter and sets it next to a buck on the other side. The buck takes the bottle and walks off to a table to sit with some other ponies. I approach the bar and the mare greets me, “How ya doin’? What can I get ya darlin’?”

“Nothing to drink,” I reply. “I was actually hoping to get some information on raiders around the area.”

The mare nods. “‘Course darlin’. I take it ya’ll a traveler or a trader or sometin’? Knowin’ bout the raiders comes in handy,” She tells me.

“Oh, no, not exactly,” I tell her. “I’m actually more of a...bounty hunter.” I’ll go with that.

She raises an eyebrow. “Ya’ll are a bounty hunter?” She asks skeptically. “I ain’t neva seen ya around these parts before. Ya just startin’ out?” She asks.

“I guess,” I tell her with a shrug. “I’ve killed raiders before, but I’ve never collected a bounty for them. Honestly, you can keep the bounty and I’ll just take out the raiders. Just tell me where the nearest raider threat is at.”

The mare stares at me skeptically, perhaps wondering if I am insane. “Ya wana go kill some raiders just for the heck of it?” She asks, I nod. She takes a moment to look me over and looks at something under the counter before straightening back up and asking me, “Ya’ll wouldn’t happen to be called Ratchet, would ya?”

Okay, my turn to raise an eyebrow. How does she know my name? “Yes...why?” I ask cautiously.

“Someone told me you was comin’,” She tells me. “Gave me a bounty specifically for ya. Told me to watch for a mare in a lab coat. Course, that’s not usually how bounties work. First come first served, ya know. But this here client paid my fee and then some, so I ain’t got no room to complain,” She says.

“‘Course, I ain’t never hearda ya before. I figured worse case, I just get to keep the caps and continue on my business,” She admits. “Even the job is a funny thing darlin’. Wants ya to break a siege on a town out east by the name of Spark. Well, I had a customer today tell me Spark is doin’ just fine, he came from there and everythin’.”

“The job is to break a siege on a town called Spark? But, the town isn’t under siege?” I ask to clarify.

She nods. “That’s the job. Got it two days ago, so either the siege was broken yesterday or the customer today is a liar. But he’s a regular, so I trust him enough. That, or the job is wrong,” She explains.

“I see,” I mutter. “So, who exactly gave you this job to give to me?” I ask.

“Didn’t get his name,” She replies. “He was just a courier anyway. Deliverin’ the job for his client.” Another courier? “Didn’t mention his client’s name either. Even said ya wouldn’t require payment for the job, which I took with a drink of whiskey. But here ya are, and ya said as much yourself. So, are ya interested in the job?” She asks.

The mare nods. “Very well. Like I said, the job is to break the siege on the town of Spark to the east. The town itself is build around a power substation that provides it with power for lights and fancy stuff like that. I reckon the raiders want it for themselves, assuming the siege is real,” She tells me and then reaches under the counter again.

She sets a metal case on the counter between us. “Then there is this. The courier didn’t tell me what was inside and told me not to open it. Just to give it to ya. Last bit of info I got is that ya don’t need to return to complete the bounty. I was assured ya would complete it. Not like ya need to return to collect any caps anyhow,” She mutters.

I had a strange feeling about this whole thing. A courier, strange events, this reeks of that pony’s doing. I don’t even know a name or anything yet. Carefully, I open the metal case, which is basically a briefcase, and take in the contents. A note, a gun with a holster, and two boxes of ammo. First, I float out the gun and look it over. I’ve not seen a gun like this before. It seems heavily modified.

The mare behind the counter lets out an impressed whistle. “That’s a .44 revolver,” She says. “It even has a modified receiver and a bull barrel on it. Not to mention the scope. Ya rarely see them in this condition either. That gun packs one heck of a wallop. Has intense kick too. I know some bucks who have given themselves whiplash when they weren’t repaired for it,” She tells me.

“You seem to know a lot about guns,” I tell her as I turn the gun to the side and see a word carved into the barrel, probably with a knife. It reads ‘Executioner’.

“Ya don’t grow up in New Appleloosa without knowing a thing or two about guns darlin’,” She says with a laugh. “Though, I gotta say, the scope is practically useless after the first shot unless ya got distance and a whole lot of cover. The kick will stop ya from lining another shot up before your enemies scramble for cover,” The mare explains. “Nice of the client to give ya spare ammo too. A decent amount at that.”

“Yea…” I mutter as I put the boxes of ammo as well as the gun and holster in my bags. I will put that on later. For now, I turn my attention to the note. Unlike previous letters I have received, this one is fairly lengthy.

My name isn’t important. Not yet, anyway. You’ve gotten my letters in the past and heard about others who have received my letters. So, you know that my letters and warnings always come true. I knew you would come to New Appleloosa. I knew you would come seeking more violence.

However, you have tarnished Forgiveness. A gun made to forgive, to help ponies, to bring hope to the world. It was a small caliber because it was never meant to cause major damage. It was meant to bring things to an end for those that deserved it. A relatively peaceful, painless, and quick end. The recent things you have done with Forgiveness is unforgivable.

This is why I have provided you with a new weapon. A weapon that is meant to kill, a weapon that is meant to hurt and cause pain. The Executioner. As the name implies, it is used to execute. It is used against both the guilty and the innocent alike. It is the perfect weapon for you right now. Don’t use Forgiveness anymore.

The history of the Executioner is stained with blood. It was commissioned for a lieutenant colonel, a very brutal and vicious one. One who took insubordination very seriously. Often he would execute his own subordinates. Even prisoners of war who became liabilities. The gun’s sole purpose was to put a single bullet through a pony’s skull at point blank range. It has killed countless ponies and zebras alike. Perhaps some that didn’t even deserve it. It is yours now. And you will use it.

The town of Spark is in trouble. It is a small community of fourteen ponies with just enough room in the power substation facility to not be too cramped. They have few defences, a very limited stock of food and supplies, and not all of them can fight. The one defence they do have, is the thick magnetically locked door to the facility. Not many ponies can get through the door without heavy equipment or a lot of explosives.

This means that the twenty seven raiders that will begin to attack the substation in a few hours will not be able to get inside. Instead, they will make camp outside and wait for the inhabitants to slowly starve. Normally, a sizable force would be necessary to dive the raiders away. Even you would need Cora and the others.

But this is a special event. After what you did in the previous facility...your rage and guilt regarding the town you couldn’t save...you will be able to do this alone. It will not be easy, but you can do it as you are now.

I know that you are skeptical about me. I know that you don’t have a reason to trust me. For all you know, I could be luring you into a trap. But the ponies of Spark need your help. And you need to save them, more than you know. If you continue this path of bloodshed that you are on things will not end well. More innocents will die and they will die by your hooves. What I am offering to you right now, is a way to continue in the hoofsteps that the mare named Ratchet has been walking.

We will meet, but not for a while. Continue to walk your path, Ratchet. Once our paths cross, I will guide you and I will free you from your prison. You will be able to live your life happily once again.

I finish reading the letter and add it to my bags. I have really mixed feelings about this. The writer even said it could be a trap themselves. Releasing a sigh, I close the metal case and slide it to the barmare. “I’ll take the job,” I tell her. “And you can keep the case if you want. I don’t need it.”

“I suppose I can use it for something,” She mutters. “Well darlin’, I also rent out rooms if you’re interested. Or are ya plannin’ on headin’ out right this minute?” She asks.

“No thank you,” I reply. “I need to get going as soon as possible. Thank you for the help,” I tell her as I turn to walk away.

“No problem darlin’,” She calls after me. “Stop by anytime. And maybe buy a drink next time!”

I smile as I walk outside. Well, I suppose it is time to find out if I am walking into a trap, or if this fortune teller is actually telling me the truth.

===~+~===

Just as I was told, Spark is a power substation. A single, two story concrete building stands in the middle of various wires and electrical components. The building has a large, sturdy looking door and a few windows reinforced with metal bars on the outside of them. Around all of it is a rusty, mostly broken down chain link fence with razor wire on the top. A number of the wires run in and out of the building.

Outside a number of tables and other furniture is strewn about outside. Probably a sort of makeshift market. It makes sense, they probably don’t want outsiders just wandering into their home. A few fire barrels are crackling around providing some light in the darkness of the night. I arrived a few hours after night fell, so the fire helps me to get a good view of the place.

Including the raiders surrounding it. Like the fortune teller said, and I’ve taken to calling the author of those cryptic notes the fortune teller, there are over twenty raiders gathered around the barrels. A few tents have been set up and if the fortune teller is telling the truth then the remaining raiders will be in them. I take a few hours to watch them, know their movements, know what guns they are carrying.

Finally, I decide to make my move. The Executioner is on my side, opposite of Forgiveness. I draw it and look through the scope at the raiders. At this range, given my accuracy I probably won’t be able to hit them. However, it is dark enough that I should be able to get a few shots off before they figure out where I am at.

I line up my first shot, a headshot on a raider with a sniper rifle. Best to take out the ones who will be able to hit me at this range. I pull the trigger and to my surprise it punches through the skull of the raider and her skull explodes into bloody chunks a moment later. Lucky shot, I guess.

The raiders have started to yell and look around in the darkness. More raiders pour from the tents to join the others, but I focus on the next target. Another sniper. I line up the shot and wait for my chance. A moment when he stops moving around. There. I pull the trigger again and the second round hits home as well. Half of the raider’s skull explodes. Two for two. Either my luck is high right now or I can suddenly use weapons properly.

I suppose it is in my good favor that raiders don’t wear helmets. What isn’t in my favor, is that the raiders saw the muzzle flash. They can’t see me exactly, but they know the general direction I am in now. Some of their unicorns are using their horns to illuminate the darkness. It is only a matter of time now till they find me. But I can still get off another shot before things go south.

The other raider I was planning to shoot is hidden by some others. Instead of them, I select another. I spot a buck with a twin assault rifle saddle. I take the shot a third hit, the buck’s skull explodes just like the others. This time, however, the raiders open fire in my direction. I guess they have gotten my position limited down far enough. Their shots miss and give me time to reload the three bullets I shot.

Then, I ready an inhaler of dash and charge at the approaching raiders. As we charge at each other, their bullets get more accurate. After a short time, a bullet strikes my barding. That is my que. I use the dash and time slows to a crawl. I continue my charge and start shooting at the approaching raiders.

Three of the closest ones receive a bullet to the chest as I gallop past them. The next four meet the same fate, with the exception of the last one, who gets a knife in the neck. I reload just as the dash wears off. Already I have another inhaler in my muzzle and as the raiders turn to get me in their sight, I use it.

If the fortune teller is right, there should be seventeen more raiders. I keep charging into their group, surrounding myself with six of them. Then, I stop, draw four knives. I send them out in a fan in front of me as I turn to shoot the other two with the revolver. I fire three shots in total and then press on.

Despite the dash, I feel buckshot pelting my side as I turn back to the rest of the raiders. Another bullet bites into my chest, but I ignore it as I fire two more shots blindly at the closest raider, taking her down. But then time begins moving forward at normal speed. I forgot to keep track of the time. More bullets punch into my barding, penetrating my armor and biting into my hide.

I pull out another dash as fast as I can and use it. As time slows once more, I jump to the side and pull out two of the healing potions I got from Ditzy. I quickly drink them and they take care of most of the damage. Some of the pain still gnaws at me. But with almost a ten more raiders to deal with, I don’t have the time to deal with it right now.

I turn back to the raiders and fire the last bullet in my revolver. As I reload it, I draw my other two knives and attack the closest raider. More bullets chew into my barding before I can bring my gun to bare. I start shooting at the closest raiders. Six more rounds and four raiders dead.

The remaining five raiders circle around me. I have a few seconds left of dash left and use it to reload the gun. When it wears off they open fire. Caught in the crossfire, I can only absorb the hits as I shoot them down one by one. Three of them go down before the gun clicks on an empty cylinder. The remaining two also run out of ammo as I stagger towards them with my knives. The Executioner drops from my magic as I feel my magic weaken. My knives shake in my grip as I jerk them towards the raiders and catch them in the throats.

They fall to the ground along with my knives. I collapse onto my haunches as I bend my neck to dig through my bag with my muzzle. Carefully, I pull out the last healing potion and chug it. I can feel some strength returning, some of the bullet wounds healing up. But not all of them are sewn back together. I can use my magic again, however slightly. I pull out multiple rolls of bandages and strip off my barding and toss my bags aside as I start bandaging up my wounds. Some of the bandages are infused with magic, so I use those on the worst wounds.

While bandaging myself up, I hear a few of the raiders groaning out. A few calling out for the others to kill me. I finish tying up my wounds and stagger back to my hooves. The blood loss causes my head to spin. I pick up the Executioner in my magic and sway between the bodies as I reload it. One of the nearby raiders is moving. I raise my gun and level it at the raider’s head. My vision fades as I pull the trigger and put the raider down. I catch myself from falling to the ground in a heap as I turn towards the next raider that is still alive.

I slowly stagger over to her, raise my gun, and put her down. I find the next one, and finish him off too. Another raider, another bullet. Another. All headshots. With one bullet left in my revolver, there are no raiders left alive. My magic gives out and the Executioner falls to the ground.

With the raider threat dealt with, I stumble to the door to Spark. Along the way, my vision blinks in and out. I’m probably seconds from passing as I raise my hoof and pound weakly on the door. On the last hit, I keep my hoof on the door as I slowly slump down against it. I take a few shallow breaths before I call out weakly, “All the raiders...are dead. You’re all...safe now…”

At the final word, my consciousness finally fades and I close my eyes to embrace the darkness surrounding me.

===~+~===

When I wake up, I am staring at a concrete ceiling with light peeking in through the windows. No barding, no weapons, just me covered in bandages. My body arches and I can still feel where bullets bit into my hide. I take a breath and shift my weight a bit with a groan. This catches the attention of a nearby buck. He is a rough looking fellow, wearing a blood stained apron.. His purple mane is missing in patches and his right eye has a bit of a twitch to it. But his dark yellow hide is remarkably tidy.

“Ah, you’re awake,” He says in a high pitched, almost strained voice. I start to get up, but he raises a hoof to stop me. “Now, now, you’re fine. Everything is fine. I am the doctor here in Spark. I treated your injuries once we were sure the raider threat was dealt with,” He tells me. “My name is Shredder.”

I lay back down. “Well, thank you Shredder. Incidentally, has anyone ever told you that your name isn’t exactly the most doctorly?” I ask him.

He laughs, which is really a series of high pitched sounds. “Ponies do more often than you’d think. Many doctors seem to have medical related names. Honestly, I think that they change their name just to seem more medically inclined,” Shredder tells me.

“I always kind of wondered that as well. It seems convenient that almost every doctor is named after a medical device or procedure,” I agree. “After all, it isn’t like a name dictates what profession we go into or anything.”

After a few tense moments I clear my throat. “So...uh...How bad was the damage?” I ask him.

“Your injuries?” Shredder asks. “Oh, nothing major. Around two dozen bullet wounds, give or take. Quite a number of cuts made from near misses. Lots of buckshot. You even had a few stab wounds that hadn’t healed properly,” He explains.

“What part of that is ‘nothing major’? It sounds like I had enough lead in me to be a pencil…” I mutter.

“Oh, well. I suppose you have a point he,” He laughs again, rubbing the back of his neck. “After all, I did have to cut you open multiple times where wounds had already healed but bullets remained under the skin. You know, healing potions don’t necessarily push bullets out of wounds, right? For shallow wounds they usually do it, but with deeper wounds potions tend to just heal around the bullet,” Shredder explains.

I think back to the potions I drank recently while fighting raiders. The time that I can remember, I took quite a number of bullets. I wonder how many didn’t heal properly. “So, how much do I owe you for your services then?” I ask him. “All that work couldn’t have been easy, even for a unicorn like you.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “Free of charge,” He says. “After all, you took out the raiders that were trying to take our little town from us. With us so far out of the way and since we get so little traffic, it would only have been a matter of time before we starved or were forced to make a stand to escape,” He explains.

“Yea. We are a fairly new settlement, so most don’t know about us quite yet. We only get a single trader every few weeks regularly,” Shredder explains. “But occasionally, travelers or scavengers come through. We had to drive out some feral ghouls to move in ourselves.”

Shredder laughs. “It isn’t just a good thing. If you hadn’t showed up, more than likely we would have died. Either from starvation or for trying to fight our way out. You saved our lives,” He tells me.

“Well, you should get some rest. It will be a while before you will be strong enough to be up and about,” Shredder says as he turns to walk away, but then stops and turns his head back towards me. “By the way, we are picking over the raiders’ equipment. Since you had nothing on you when we brought you in, I assume you dropped it somewhere? What did you have? We’ll set it aside for you, along with some caps for all the gear the raiders have,” He says.

“Oh...yea,” I mutter. “Most of my stuff should be together. My barding has two revolver holsters on it along with a bunch of knife holders, my .32 caliber revolver should be in its holster. My bags should be next to it. The lab coat will give them away. Though, it is probably blood stained now,” I let out a sigh. “I also have a custom .44 caliber revolver that is lying around somewhere. You can tell it’s the one because of the name Executioner carved into the barrel. Oh. And my seven knives...You will probably find them stuck in the raiders. They are specialized for throwing, so they are narrow and double edged,” I explain.

Shredder nods as I tell him about my gear. When I finish, he gives a final nod and says, “Alright, we’ll find it and set it aside for you. We’ll also see about getting it cleaned up. Get some rest.” He leaves me with a smile. I stare back up at the ceiling and blink a few times before I try to get back to sleep.

===~+~===

I am woken up by the sound of heavy metal hooves walking up to me. Multiple sets of them. I keep my eyes closed for about a minute as they stand beside me before I open my right eye a crack to glance up at them. Immediately I shut it again and try to pretend that I am sleeping.

“Ratchet.” An angry voice says from beside me. “I know you’re awake. We need to have a talk.” It says.

Sheepishly, I open my eyes and offer a smile. “Heeey Cora. Everyone,” I say quietly. Cora, Macro, Soar, and Hal are all standing around the cot I am resting on. If they had faces, I’m sure they would be scowling.

Cora raises a hoof and sets it on the edge of my cot gently. Then she pushes her hoof down abruptly, causing the cot to flip over, me along with it. I fall to the floor in a heap as I let out a groan. “Okay...I deserved that,” I mutter. “But come on, I’m injured here!” I say as I get into a sitting position.

“And whose fault is that?” Cora replies. “You were the one who went off on her own. I told you we should have gone back to the lab, but then you...you forced me to stay behind!” She yells.

“That’s because you were being unfair,” I explain. “You wanted to let the Radscorpions get away with what they did and let them have the facility. And not only that, but if I didn’t do what I did I would never have came here to help the ponies of Spark. They would have died,” I tell her.

“It wasn’t our problem to deal with, Ratchet,” Cora counters. “Our problem is the pods, remember? What would have happened if you died? Who would deal with the pods then?” She asks.

“What do the pods matter if everypony else is dead?” I ask her. “Our goal isn’t just to deal with all the pods, remember? It is to help Equestria, and that means helping innocent ponies too. If innocents die while we can help then, we are no better than raiders in my opinion. We are doing what we do to help ponies, Cora. Not for ourselves,” I tell her.

She stares at me for a few moments before she replies. “Sorry. I guess you’re right. I was so caught up with everything else…” She mutters. “But still! You shouldn’t have overwritten my commands and forced me to follow your orders,” She tells me.

I sigh. “Yea, I know. I know. I’m sorry about that as well. All of you, I’m sorry,” I tell them. “But, I’m back in my right mind now. Seeing the town destroyed like that...I guess I lost myself for a while there.”

“Yea,” Hal agrees. “You didn’t come back from the facility. We ended up having to wait till Cora returned to normal.”

“And even then, when we went to the facility you weren’t there,” Soar adds.

“PipBucks have location ID tags in them,” Cora explains. “While you were frozen I copied the ID to my systems so I could find you if we ever got separated. I just activated it once you didn’t turn up in the facility. We thought you might have died and they took your PipBuck,” She tells me.

“They have that kind of functionality? That’s useful, I suppose. Or it could be bad if someone you don’t want to gets ahold of it,” I mutter. “Anyway, I think I can move around now,” I tell them as I rise to my hooves. “Do you want to go back to the lab? I can rest up a bit more there. Then, I suppose I can be frozen again for now. Or do we have anymore pods to check out?” I ask.

“Not at the moment, no,” Cora replies. “Are you sure you want to go back? Not going to freak out and go wandering around again?” She asks.

I chuckle. “No, I think I got that out of my system. We can go back now,” I say with a small smile.

“Yea, we should get back home. These are my friends, by the way,” I tell him.

“I see. And it is nice to meet all of you,” He says with a smile. “Your gear is over there,” He gestures beside the cot. “We put a small bag of caps with it as well. A small payment for all of the gear we got from the raiders. But, before you go, would you like to join us for lunch?” He asks.

Now that he mentions it, I am a bit hungry. I don’t remember the last time I’ve eaten anything lately. I can smell the scent of cooking meat in the air. I’m not really big into the whole meat eating thing, but it doesn’t taste all that bad. “Sure, I suppose I could stick around and join you,” I tell him as I get into my gear and get everything situated.

“Excellent!” He proclaims as he gestures for us to follow him. “We started cooking after your friends arrived, so it might be a few more minutes yet,” Shredder tells us as we follow him down from the second floor. “Hope you don’t mind eating outside. Cooking in here tends to make things smokey,” He says as we step outside. “But really, you saved us a great deal of trouble. We won’t have to go hunting for a while.” What does he mean?

The ground outside the building is stained with blood, but all of the raider corpses are gone. I’m glad, because the sight and smell of rotting bodies lingering around wouldn’t enjoyable to eat with. Shredder leads us around the building to the back where the smell of meat is coming from.

A spitroast is set up with a fire burning under it. Above the fire, being rotated by a unicorn’s magic and skewered by a metal pole, is the raw corpse of a pony. My eyes go wide in horror. I look around and see a nearby table with a few knives stuck in it and the body of another pony on top of it. “W-What is this?” I ask hesitantly.

Shredder turns to me with a smile. “Lunch,” He says simply. “The raiders you killed proved to have a high muscle content, more than our usual hunts. I guess that is because of their barbaric line of work,” He chuckles. He notices my expression and tilts his head. “Is something wrong?” He asks.

He blinks at me as if I told him something strange. “Of course we are,” Shredder tells me. “What do you think we would be eating? I told you before, traders don’t come out here much. And the soil in the Wasteland is hardly fit for growing crops. Not many creatures wander out this far either. We’re lucky to see something as common as a radroach once a week,” He explains.

“But, thanks to your efforts, we will have enough food for a while. Especially since we can keep it refrigerated thanks to the electricity,” Shredder says as he turns to look at the rotating corpse. “That was a real problem with our old place. Meat going bad before we could use it all. So when we stumbled upon this place, it was like a blessing from Celestia herself!” He proclaims.

“But...but...you’re cannibals?” I ask in shock. “You’ve done this before?”

He turns back towards me as he wrinkles up his snout. “Cannibal is such a negative term. It implies we eat ponies because we like to. Well, don’t get me wrong, they are delicious, as you’ll find out, but it is a necessity. We don’t have much else to eat out here,” He explains. “And yes, we’ve done this before. Laying traps where ponies were bound to scavenge or inviting travelers into our homes. Oh! But, don’t worry,” He says with a bright smile. “We wouldn’t think of harming you or your friends. You saved us and have provided us with an ample food supply, after all.”

Shredder turns his head to look at the spitroast again. “Shouldn’t be long now. Ah, my mouth is watering in anticipation,” He says. “What about you?” He asks as he turns back to face me. His smile disappears as he is greeted with the barrel of the Executioner. My expression goes dark and cold as I pull the trigger, coating the mare rotating the spitroast in Shredder’s blood and brains.

===~+~===

I stare coldly at the large pyre burning in front of me. The bodies of the raiders and the inhabitants of Spark alike are being consumed by the flames. The ponies I had saved and the ponies I had saved them from. But now I know that both groups were monsters. One group out to take the lives of ponies, the other out to eat them.

As I gaze at the pyre, I bring out the fortune teller’s note and look it over again. I read their comments about Spark. Them asking me to save it. Telling me about its food troubles. Telling me about the impenetrable door. Saying that I needed to help them more than I knew. Giving me the Executioner. The fortune teller knew all along what would happen here.

This is only a hunch, but I think she knew that me killing the raiders would get me into Spark. That I could gain the trust of the ponies of Spark by saving them like this and that they wouldn’t try to eat me too. The fact I could do it alone is because they wouldn’t feel as threatened if the others were with me. The fortune teller knew all along. Them leaving out what I would end up doing was more than likely to keep me from trying to kill the ponies of Spark before I gained access.

I throw the note into the fire and watch it burn. This was a trap, but not for me. This trap was for the ponies of Spark. I hear Cora’s hoofsteps approaching from behind me. “What?” I ask abruptly.

“We should...go,” She tells me. “The others and I have taken most of what we can carry, so we can-” I cut her off as I slam my hooves down and get up.

“Put everything you took from them back,” I tell her, taking the small bag of caps they gave me out of my own bags. I throw the bag into the pyre. “I don’t want anything of theirs. Just throw it inside.”

I gaze silently into the flames until she returns with the others. “Let’s go,” I tell them as I turn from the fire and start walking in the direction of the lab. “I’ve overstayed my welcome in the Wasteland.”

Fallout Equestria: Icicle

by PlagenShiki

Chapter 35 - Singularity