Fallout Equestria: Friends in High Places

by Twilight_Sparkler

Chapter 8: Lockpicks and Escapists (KT)

Escape

Escape

Somepony actually managed to do it. Who? How?

"Red-Eye sounded pretty mad about it too, you three got any idea who it is?" Shadow glanced back, narrowing her eyes and throwing her head back in disgust at Sapphire.

"No clue. Could it've been the new guy we just captured?" Shadow stopped, frozen in her tracks.

"We better pray to the Goddess it's not."

Weird, she seemed really spooked by that. What does that prisoner mean to her?

We slowed to a stop in front of the grand Cathedral door, Red-Eye just inside.

POOF!

It was Disciple, materializing right next to me.

Shadow rolled her eyes at me and continued talking. "Deep breaths, and put on a straight face. Red-Eye will surely have us killed at the single hint of exhaustion. It'll only give him a reason to rid of us, let's not give him an excuse."

She looked really scared for a minute there... Red-Eye wouldn't really do that... Right? He's the good guy!

I took a deep breathe regardless. I wasn't going to take a chance, after all, I still had a Stable to return to.

Mom, Dad I'm coming for you!

Shadow pushed open the doors, revealing Red-Eye sitting calmly at his desk.

"Shadow, it has come to my attention that the prisoner you had captured and were supposed to keep watch on, is missing. Do you care to explain yourself as to why Stargazer escaped?"

She kneeled before Red-Eye, and spoke.

"I have no pardon for my actions."

"Very well then, you do realize if you refuse to pardon your actions, there is severe consequences. Are you prepared to face your punishment?"

Shadow grinned to herself, I could barely see it. Then, she answered

"Now, Red-Eye you know very well you can't do that. Just because I carry the brand of a Dashite doesn't mean I'm not in a position to throw power around in the Enclave. You seem to have forgotten that I'm a direct representative of the Enclave, here to capture him and return Stargazer home."

"Damn you! Fine, if you won't accept punishment then I'll jus-"

"Hurting any of my friends will also result in your execution, Red-Eye. Burst is from the Enclave as well, helping them with projects. She can open a direct telepathic link to the Enclave any moment she wants, and they'll know about everything." She smirked. "Red-Eye, you know my mission was to return Stargazer to the Enclave. Originally, this plan had nothing to do with you. I included you because you supplied me with everything needed, and you helped me search for him. For that, I thank you, but I'm afraid we'll be cutting this deal. I had Stargazer within hoof's distance and you let him escape. In fact Red-Eye, I could have you executed for this. I will be searching for Stargazer on my own now. So what do you have to say, Red-Eye?"

She looked absolutely devious, bowing with a look of cunning in her eyes, an evil smirk adorned her muzzle.

Red-Eye paused for a moment. "You and Burst are free to go, but Kiwi and Sapphire must remain. They are part of my plan, and I cannot thank you enough for saving them."

"Saving us? I was under the impression we were captured for our heritage. Me being an Earth pony that knows how to farm, and Sapphire having the ability to grow crystals."

"And you are correct, Kiwi. You two are very important to my plan."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could almost see Shadow and Burst's faces light up.

Oh no.

Burst casually walked behind me, Shadow copying the motion to Sapphire. I felt the cool metal of a pistol being notched under my chin, illuminated by a pink aura. "Then we'll be taking these two. I mean, you said yourself, we're no longer under your jurisdiction. Since we're now Enclave, we're enemies."

I could feel myself being pushed backwards by Bursts's magic, hysteria building up inside me. "You can run Shadow, but you'll be making the other 3 miserable. Especially your 2 little hostages. If they leave here under your control, I will have Stable 100 massacred."

"Yeah, one problem with that. It's not my problem." I could hear the creek of the doors opening. I looked over at Sapphire to see how he was faring.

Passed out. Honestly not surprised.

"See ya later, Red-Eye."

The doors slammed shut, the sound echoing in my ears. A sound I knew I'd never forget.

"We're not free yet. I'll fly Sapphire out of here, you get Kiwi out of here. Meet you at the gate." And with that, she was off. Me?

I remember passing out.

---------------------------------------------------

I did remember waking up though. It was nighttime (or darker than usual), and I could hear the sound of conversation. Just snippets.

"Where should we..." "Stable..." "Enclave..." "Chase after that Stargazer..."

So I had finally escaped, but I was by no means free. I felt the tightness of the rope around me, searing my limbs. Disciple poofed into existence nearby.

Too bad I don't even know how to hold it. I'm pretty useless, aren't I?

I rolled over and stared at the sky, no longer having care towards my captors conversation. I swear, when I get the chance, I'm killing Burst and Shadow. I paused for a moment and told myself silently and especially you, Red-Eye.

Just a few moments later, I heard shuffling next to me.

Sapphire.

My Celestia, I nearly burst into tears right then and there. The situation had finally hit me. We were who-knows-where, no idea how to get back home, wholly unprepared to combat the wasteland and to top it all off, we were mere bargaining chips. The only thing that kept me from bawling was Sapphire. We had to be strong for each other, for who would be strong for us?

"Kiwi? Where are we?" It was Sapphire, and boy, did he sound beat up.

"We 'escaped' from Red-Eye, but it looks like we went from the frying pan to the fire. We're currently bound in rope, and Burst and Shadow are nearby. I just heard them talking a minute ago..."

I hadn't noticed them stop, but the fire still burned.

"Their asleep. I guess if we're gonna escape, it's gotta be now."

It took Sapphire a whole 5 seconds to think of a plan. He didn't even tell me he was so proud of himself.

"Alright, you have to trust me on this, you need to promise you won't scream, alright?"

I silently nodded. Sapphire wormed behind me, and I could see his horn glowing.

Ah! That's what he's doing.

I felt the bonds being ripped apart by the gemstone he had just grown. I got up and stretched, and moved over to Sapphire. He repeated my actions, hearing his bones physically pop.

"What now?"

I glanced over at where the other two had set up camp. "I wanna ask them some questions. Do you know how to fire my gun? Maybe you could use it for intimidation." I made request bashfully. Hell, I could hardly lift the rifle, I wasn't going to try to shoot it for awhile.

"Sure thing."

As soon as I felt his telekinesis wrap around Disciple, I immediately felt that something was wrong. When Sapphire grabbed it, I felt a tugging deep within my chest. The moment he started to swing it around his shoulder, I screamed in pain. It felt like he had grabbed my heart, no my very soul, and dragged it out of my body.

Sapphire immediately dropped it. That wasn't before he burst into a fit of curses either.

"I'm never touching that thing again, Kiwi! It felt like it grabbed a hold of me, instead of the other way around. Then when I moved it, I felt my magic backfire. Never again Kiwi, Never again." In just that instant, me and Sapphire were put out of commission. Me gasping for air and clutching my chest, Sapphire rolling his read in the dirt and rubbing it. Shadow didn't even have to look intimidating when she walked up.

"..."

"..."

"... I completely forgot about you guys."

She gave us a blank stare. "I guess you're pretty hungry." She still didn't seem very awake, not all there. Her mane was ruffled and her eyes were half closed.

Heh. It's kinda cu-

I practically felt the physic slap from Sapphire as he glared daggers at me.

"Yes! Me and Kiwi are hungrier than ravenous Hydras."

---------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long before we had food in our bellies. Shadow and Burst were practically begging for forgiveness. I couldn't find it in my heart to be mad, so I had to forgive them. Sapphire took a bit longer, but that was because they got his coat dirty and crumpled his mane.

"We're really sorr-"

"Okay, I'm done trying to be nice about it. Can you two just shut up and let us eat?"

I was pretty hungry.

After we finished, Sapphire sat his bowl down and looked Shadow and Burst in the eye.

"Why did you capture us?" He hardly phrased it like a question, more of a forceful statement. With the gleam in his eye, I knew he seriously wanted answers. I did too, but I was still hungry.

Shadow whistled and made herself comfortable on the ashen ground. "It's going to be a long story, are you ready?"

"Certainly." I nodded my head in agreement.

"For starters, we originally had no plan of taking you two hostage. Our mission was to retrieve a traitor to the Enclave, and bring him back to be executed. Hell, I didn't have any intention of meeting Red-Eye 'till I hit the surface. He found me, crumpled, bearing the mark of a Dashite."

"What's a Dashite?"

She pointed at her flanks and I quickly looked away. I heard make a sound of disgust. "It's nothing like that you Earth pony pervert." I looked back tentatively and was surprised. Where here cutie mark should've been, was a brand. It looked like a cloud with a bolt shooting out of it.

"What kind of skill is that?"

Shadow nearly bowled over in laughter. After she recovered, she explained. "It's not a talent. The Enclave brands Pegasi who betray the Enclave."

"I thought you just told us you were working for the Enclave?"

"And right you are, you white germaphobe. I garnished my mark after I failed to retrieve Stargazer from his estate. Those were my original orders, and I failed them. They had caught wind he had fled to the surface, so I was branded and thrusted down here by the Enclave to search for him."

"Wow..." I had to agree with Sapphire's sentiment here, I was astounded. That sounded like a hellish place to live.

"What was Stargazer wanted for?"

"Stargazer himself was guilty of no crime. It was his parents. They were geniuses, much like Stargaze is. Their own cutie marks specialized in Math and Science, his Mom and Dad in respective order. They were planning on making an invention that would bring the Enclave to the surface."

"You mean..."

"They were trying to destroy the cloud layer."

"What happened?" I had long ago settled my bowl down. I was fully intrigued.

"Their biggest mistake was borrowing money. Enclave got tipped off by an angry lender, his parents fled to the surface and haven't been seen since."

"Why all the fuss about Stargazer?"

"We planned on leaving him alone. That was, until he started showing promises in inventions. Then the council got scared. They used the excuse of his parents debt, and pushed it on his shoulders. Obviously he couldn't pay it off in time. I was sent to collect whatever money he had; as well as his head. By the time I was there, the house was empty. He took after his parents and fled to the surface, with the only option was for me to follow."

"Anyway, that's way off topic. Where was I? Oh yeah, Red-Eye found me. If you hadn't guessed already, he hates the Enclave. He saw my Dashite mark and took me in to spite them. He saved my life that day. I was eventually forced to tell him who I was, and agreed to let me stay on one condition. He got 3/4ths of the bounty money. Of course I had to agree, and that's where I've been for the longest time now."

"Does that answer your question?" She smirked slightly at Sapphire, a mischievous dance in her brown eyes.

"Wholly."

"My turn, and I have a toughie."

"What is it Kiwi?"

"...What next?"

Shadow looked like she had been waiting for that one. "We have two options. One, we go out and search for Stargazer. Two..."

"What is it?" Shadow looked determined not to answer. Theres no way this is good...

"Two is we go save your Stable from Red-Eye's forces. He wasn't bluffing when he said he was going to wipe your stable clean."

"Then it's easy, option 2 it is." Burst nodded in agrrement with my sentiment.

"Think Shadow, if we put a dent in Red-Eye's army, the Enclave will destroy him with that many less losses."

"You're right Burst." She turned back to us. "But we'll have to be leaving right about now, so you'll have to pick up a weapon on the way Sapphire."

"I have no problem with that."

---------------------------------------------------

I felt the weight of Disciple on my forelimbs. I'm going to be killing ponies with thing. The though was a grim one, and by no means looked pleasant. Shadow showed me a little bit how to shoot this damned thing. I had to make sure to steady my breathing, so my crosshairs wouldn't be flying all over the place. We had arrived at Stable 100 faster than we thought we would, and were setting up for the arrival of Red-Eye's forces. This is not how an Earth-Pony fights, hidden behind a scope. I shrugged off the feeling. It's better than running out with just my legs... I flinched at the thought of my first encounter of a hostile in the wasteland.

Celestia this is an awkward position.

As for Sapphire, Shadow had been slightly lying when she said he had to pick up a weapon. She had 'mysteriously' found a shotgun in her bag. Nothing spectacular, just a small Sawed-off Shotgun. Kinda feels like we should switch weapons... I knew I was wrong the instant I said it. He could grow Crystals. Those would have a much better advantage if he was up close and personal.

Shadow? She was flying high with Wingblades and Legblades. Much unlike our first encounter where she had been using a... sawed-off Shotgun... but it didn't look she had a gun in sight.

Burst? She had to be in the weirdest place of all. Right smack in the middle of the doors. She had large submachine gun, and a spiked plank strapped to her side. Even Sapphire, a short ranged fighter was at least making an attempt to hide.

That's when we heard it. A small renegade of Red Eye's forces.

My grip tightened a bit on Disciples trigger, and I noticed Sapphire do the same.

A pony stepped out from the ring of trees, and that's when all hell broke lose.

Sapphire lept out from bottom branches of the trees, already in control of 2 crystals. He was slashing wildly, spiraling down, slicing the lead pony to ribbons. That's when the rest of them had a reason to charge in.

Mistake. Now I knew why Burst was in the open.

"Sapphire, clear out!" Seeing her ready up the submachine gun, he mad the smart descision and whisked off, deflecting shots with a bigger sapphire.

Burst unloaded on the main force charging in, and many fell, lifeless.

I couldn't handle it. There was so much life lost right then and there, they could've had families, living lives. How many of these ponies even wanted to fight?

The screams of pain and agony were answer enough. I laid Disciple down, I would be no help for this battle. Of the small few who were left, Shadow was swooping down and making easy work of them.

Then it was quiet.

"We're done here Kiwi. Let's go."

She said it so formally, like it had been no big deal. Like she had the godly right to decide who lived and who died.

I reluctantly stumbled down the slope, not even carrying Disciple, knowing it would appear at my side when I stopped. I really shouldn't have looked at the maimed bodies on my way down though.

I screwed my eyes shut. It was too much, limbs sticking out with no bodies. Brains with nothing to control. I trudged my way down the slope.

"I know it's hard the first time." I was surprised at Shadow's sympathetic tone. "But you have to realize, it's them or us. They were going to kill, no, exterminate a whole Stable of ponies, including your family." With that, we went in silence. We met at the Stable entrance, with Burst and Sapphire.

"We're done here. Let's go looks for Stargazer now."

I was shocked. I found it within me to express my contempt. "No!" In a softer tone I added, "No. I wanna see how my family is doing." Sapphire nodded in agreement.

Shadow opened her mouth to argue, but Burst cut her off. "Let them. It won't anything will it?" Shadow closed her mouth, Harumph'd and tunred her back. "Whatever."

There was a small keypad outside the door. I trotted over to it, and had a convenient realization.

"I don't know the passcode."

Shadow sighed in contempt. "I'll do it."

She quickly punched in the code and the door slowly slid open...

That was the day I changed. I knew what game was the Wasteland was playing with us, was really not a game. This Stable had been my home all my life and now...

The walls were bloody, bullet holes in a squiggly line across the walls. Dead ponies were scattered inside. None of them had bodies with all their parts.

That's when I officially lost it.

I screamed. I cried.

Then, an even worse scenario played out in my mind...

My parents...

I rushed down the hallways, blood splashing around me like wet red paint. I tripped over body parts in my desperate attempt to rush through these halls I memorized.

Our cell.

I didn't stop and think. I rammed our door, crashing it down.

Everything was set in place, dished were washed, plates with food were set up, like there were preparing lunch. No tables were turned...

It looked completely normal.

I slowed when I entered our cell. I walked tightly, as if not to disturb the perfect placement. I found my room first.

My bed was made, there was even a plate in my room, as if my parents expected me to be back home for lunch and in a twisted sense, I was.

I trotted past it. My ease waning bit by bit. I came to stop at my parents door.

Closed.

My unease jumped. I had a bad feeling about this. I slowly opened the door.

A gruesome sight awaited me. Both of my parents bodies were pinned to the wall. Somepony thought it funny to chop of all their limbs and shove them down their own mouths, legs sticking out of my parents maw. A crudely drawn heart was drawn in blood beside them, as a last dark attempt to brighten the scene. I couldn't take it.

I barfed. I let it all out.

There was a small note on their bed. In crudely written hoofwriting it said:

I always keep my promise.

Love~

Red-Eye <3

I threw the note down, then picked it back up. With a grim face, I roughly shoved it back down to the bottom of my bag.

I'll never forgive him, he'll pay for it.

I trotted back out, with new, sick determination. My face was set stocky, and I had a new goal.

I'm going to kill you, Red-Eye.

---

I met the others back at the Stable door. Me and Sapphire locked eyes and nodded. We now had a shared goal.

Burst cleared her throat. "I hate to be the messenger of bad news, but we checked the bodies of Red-Eye's forces."

"And?"

"They arn't Red-Eye's men. They were a trading caravan from this Stable, upholding their trust agreement with Red-Eye."

I didn't know how to react anymore. So much death in one blow, I was just becoming numb to it.

"Okay." I blandly replied.

"...Uhh... yeah... Okay..." Burst awkwardly mumbled back.

Shadow cleared her throat. "Look guys, I know it's ha-"

"Like hell you do! I killed one of my own without a second thought! You were Red-Eye's personal assassin! I don't care if you try to sympathize with us, but you have no right in Heaven nor Hell to empathize with us!"

I was shocked with Sapphire's outburst, but it was well deserved.

"I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Just shut up."

Then it was silent. Burst had to sassiness to glance at me and say, "Wheres your speech?", but not much else. I saw where this was going and a cleared my throat.

"So now we look search for Stargazer."

"Yes. I would predict he's near North edge of the Everfree, even if he was dumb enough to fly."

I stretched my sore legs and made a promise to myself.

I will do anything to hinder Red-Eye's progress. If he needs Stargazer, then my new objective is to kill him.

We readied up, making our move in the Wasteland's horrendous game.

Comments

[Tetragrammaton]

Yay, new chapter.

The attitude with which they all talk to RedEye seems ... Strange...