Fallout Equestria : Pariahs

by SkyDreams

FOE: Pariahs Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Breathe it In

‘FIRE SAFETY’

• Kill “The Phoenix” [complete]
• [Optional] Secure stolen supplies for Hoofprint. [compete]
• Return to Tally

Those words floated in my vision as I felt my eyes swell back into their sockets. The fun part about blowing your own head up is that when you get it back, your brain comes first, so you feel everything else come back in excruciatingly painful detail. I’ve been feeling the most fucked up sensations of bone regrowing and new teeth pushing back into place over the past few hours. Not to mention the burning-stinging sensation of my skin crawling back over my skull and muscles. Imagine every part of your face head and lower neck, all moving around and fighting to get back into their correct places all at once. Or better yet, thousands of little slugs and beetles crawling around under your skin as your actual skin moves around of its own volition agitating the beetles so that they are always biting you. That’ll get you close.

UGH! Note to self, use head explosions as a last resort.

As my sight returned, I looked past my semi-skeletal snout to see the ground meandering past me. Great I was moving? Was I too heavy for the gryphons to fly? I was awfully close to the ground. Sadly I was unable to look around as the nerves connecting my head to my neck hadn’t finished growing back. I couldn’t even feel the rest of my body. I was certain my body was still there though, my front hooves were dangling limply in front of me. Being useless for the time being, I just spent my time wondering where we were going, and wishing to all that was good that I would soon be able to blink. Itchy Itchy eyes.

It was only about an hour or so later (I was able to tell thanks to the clock on my E.F.S.) that i began hearing a strained ringing followed shortly by an ear splitting pop that sent pain ricocheting through my skull. And then, oh the gift of sound.

“-Believe it. He play you like a fiddle but… I’ll be made glue if he didn’t save the whole town by doing it.” Came Turnpenny’s voice as he mused over what had happened. Oh shit, why did these guys have my body? That damned Hilde, when I get my hooves on her. She promised!

Saint made a grunting noise before speaking. “No. We played ourselves like fiddles.” His voice was closer, so I assumed he was the one carrying me.

Turnpenny snorted. “You can’t turn that phrase that way. It just doesn’t have the impact you were hoping for.”
“Shut up, would ya? He was betting that we still hated him so that he could save our hides.” Saint sighed through his nostrils. “Can’t believe I couldn’t see what Gadgette saw in him until I blew his damned head off. A little loss too late I guess.”

Turnpenny laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh, but a laugh that shrugged off a deep kind of pain. “You sound just like her you know? She always said that when she couldn’t save somepony.”

“Yeah.” There was a long pause before Saint spoke again. “Do-do you know why?”

“No, for all the time We spent together I didn’t know her all that well. I just drove the wagon, and sat in market places.” Turnpenny sounded regretful, maybe even mournful.

Saint cleared his throat, sounding like he was fighting back tears. “She believed that the only reason ponies killed each other is because they lost something dear to them.” He sniffled for a good few minutes. “She believed that loss was the only true evil out there. That everyone was good on the inside.”

I saw saddlebag come into view and a single foreleg break stride to wrap over Saint’s neck. “You couldn’t have known Saint. None of us believed that like she did. What pony in their right mind would assume that a Raider Warlord would also be kind at heart? You just did what you thought was right.” There was some more sniffling from saint and then short bursts of sobbing.

Was this for real? Saint was crying over trying to kill me? ME? I thought he hated my guts. To be honest though, what he said sounded very familiar. I couldn’t put my hoof on where I had heard it before though.

At this point I began feeling static-like stinging began to crawl from my neck down to me reaer hooves. After a few more minutes I felt my chest pound once, then twice, leading into a slow crawl as my body returned to life, pushing partially coagulated blood through my veins. This too was very painful as I went through several heart attacks before all of my blood was replaced. My ragged lungs began filling with oxygen, forcing me to cough up debris that had entered my lungs after my head was removed.

Chunks of flesh, solidified blood, and soot-covered pony hair flew out of me as I hacked. “Oh shit! He’s back! Om dear Bits and Bottle Caps his head is back too!” Turnpenny sounded absolutely shocked. What was he expecting, that I would just come back headless?

“Right, Lets get him on his hooves.” Saint said as he lowered himself down so I could touch the ground.

With my hooves firmly planted on soil, my body was eager to throw the rest of me on the ground as though it had forgotten the sensation of touching dirt. I curled up, coughing up my newly revitalized lungs. “Oh stars.” I growled, needing water so badly that I sounded like a chain-smoking ghoul that had just woken up. I resolved to not speak until I had water and the coughing was over. Each syllable was like a rusted knife be dragged down my throat.

To my honest surprise I found a tin cup being pressed to my lips and cool water trying to find its way into my mouth. I drank heavily from the cup, which admittedly made my coughing worse at first. However, I was soon able to bring myself to coughing lightly every minute or so. Looking around, I found the cup was being levitated by Saint. There were two empty water bottles laying on the ground next to the small filter I had invented the other day.

By the time I was able to sit up right, the only thing I could bring myself to say was; “Why?” Why were they caring for me? They hated me just a few hours ago.

Saint smiled slightly and pointed to Turnpenny. I look to the Wall-Guard to see that he had hitched a wagon full of supplies to his Long-haul Saddle Bags. Not only was the wagon filled with more supplies than was taken, but his saddle bags had been filled to bursting. “I should apologize, Adstrum.” Saint began. Wait, he isn't calling me Hydra? “I forgot something a good friend once told me and gave into my losses. I still hate you, but I won’t let that cloud my judgment anymore.” He pulled one hoof through his bone white mane, slicking it back. “I forgot to see past your loss like she did for me, and I’m sure she did for you.” He turned away tossing me the detonator for the collar I once had. “I’m sure you can walk, hold on to that for me will you?”

Turnpenny smiled, glancing to Saint before looking back to me. “That Gryphon told us everything. She left you a letter.” He pointed to my saddle bags which were still firmly attached to my barding. “Don’t let Saint fool you. That stunt you did made him feel differently about you. He values ponies, er… and Zebras that are willing to stick their own necks out to help innocent ponies. So yeah… Thanks for sacrificing yourself like that.” He hurried himself to catch up to Saint who had already made some distance.

I had a strange numb feeling go through my body as I thought about that. Some of the pieces weren’t fitting. I didn’t do that to help them… did I? I thought I was trying to escape. I pulled out the letter from my pack and turned it over. It was inside of an envelope, with the doodle of a happy gryphon on the front. I looked down at the detonator on the ground and then back the way we had come. I could leave right now. I could run, and they would never catch me.

I looked back to the pair of ponies walking away. Maybe I didn’t need to? I looked back down at the letter for a moment, before picking up the detonator and trotting quickly to catch up as well. I don’t know why but, I felt like I had just been standing on a precipice of an endless pit and was pulled to safety. I had the strangest sensation that it was with a harness and winch. To be honest, I actually had no idea what a winch was. I chose not to think about it.

The rest of the walk was uneventful, though we took more rest stops than on the way out. A pleasant change was that we got to talk. It wasn’t much more than talking about how far we had to go still and what we could eat during our next meal, but it was talking. Real talking, like they listened to what I said and then replied with an opinion! It reminded me of talking with the foals when we went to the NSCDC. Less bickering.

Is this what having friends was like? Were they my friends? I suppose I still had to sort that out. I often times found myself drifting off during conversation to think about Shrapnel. He was something more than a friend. I kept wondering if I had talked to him like I did with these two ponies right now. Would these ponies end up being as close to me as he was?

So many questions and all of them made my head hurt. Made my heart hurt. There was a lot of pain in my chest, and it wasn’t from the harsh realities of resurrection. Whatever it was, I wanted it to stop. Maybe I could find a solution back in hoofprint.

We arrived back in town a day and a half later at the dull light of dusk. A very happy pegasus waived to us with a hat in her hoof from over the wall. “Yeehaw! Open the gate!!” She shouted before leaping over the wall and gliding down to tackle Turnpenny into an ‘intimate’ hug, much to Turnpenny’s displeasure. He kept trying to avoid randomly placed kisses as he shouted something about ‘why him?’.

Sure enough, just after Saint magically pried Star Tumbler from our companion, the large scrap metal gates began to groan as they swung open. There, waiting for us she did when I first arrived to town was Nocturne Eclipse, looking as proud as ever in her neatly pressed Dark Blue suit. She greeted us as we approached. “I suppose I should thank you all for a job well done. Welcome home Saint, Turnpenny.” She nodded to each of them in turn, seeming to forget I was there at all. She turned around and began leading us into town with our haul.

A large group of ponies rushed out to meet us once we entered and the gates began to close. I made sure to step out of the way after I noticed that they were only crowding the side of the cart that I wasn’t on. After I moved a safe distance away, the braver and more desperate ponies began unloading the supplies under the direction of Tally. She wasn’t loud but seemed to be directing the horde of ponies simply by pointing and speaking softly. A whole train of ponies had the supplies properly sorted and began distributing them within mere minutes.

I noticed that they were praising Saint and Turnpenny and trying their best to ignore me. Even with Turnpenny, pointing out what I had done, I only got a sheepish smile from one or two ponies at best. I had wanted to escape, true. But I did help with the honest intention of giving the supplies to the town. It was honestly disappointing that they didn’t seem to care about my part in this at all. I suppose that, in this town of ponies I would always be alone… For what the Hydra did. The worst part, was that I didn’t know if I would become him again.

“Good job!”

I was broken out of my thoughts by a mare’s voice from the alleyway behind me. It was slightly nasally, but full of heart. I couldn’t stop a smile from forming, happy that someone had actually bothered to acknowledge my work. I turned around to see who it was. “Thanks! I really do want to help. I promise I won’t- hello?” There was no pony behind me. Were they too scared to be seen? I guess I could understand that. At least I had made somepony happy. I turned back to watch the supplies get sorted out, this time with a smile on my face.

‘FIRE SAFETY’ [COMPLETE]

• Kill “The Phoenix” [complete]
• [Optional] Secure stolen supplies for Hoofprint. [compete]
• Return to Tally [Complete]

The last of the supplies was divvied out just as this Text floated in front of my vision. Was this going to happen every time I did a job for someone? I don’t think it showed up while I was at the NSCDC.

As the jumbling mass of ponies under Tally’s command trotted away with the last of the supplies, Nocturne approached with a little filly trailing behind her. “Proud of ourselves are we?” She asked. My smile died down a bit, feeling the weight of her judgemental tone. She paused and quickly adjusted her demeanor. “Sorry Adstrum, I didn’t mean to devalue your pride in helping. I was attempting banter.”

The little filly popped out from between Nocturne’s forelegs. It was Cherry Bombs! And she looked much better than she did when I had crushed her hopes for me in the shack. “She’s really bad at jokes!” She shouted, trying to cut Nocturn off. It worked, but only momentarily.

Nocturne gently nudged Cherry Bombs off to the side. “Right, as I was meaning to say; Thank you for your service in helping with this situation.”

I looked around, she was definitely doing this over here in the alleyway so no one would hear. “Yes, ah. I appreciate your um… appreciation? What the stars was that at the gates? Why did you ignore me like that?”

To her credit, Nocturne looked embarrassed and even shameful at me having mentioned that. “I’m sorry Adstrum, you must understand. I can’t openly treat you as an equal until the rest of Hoofprint see you as somepony they can count on.” She reached out and place a hoof over my shoulder. “I’ll be able to greet you at the gate in time.”

My stomach felt sick, like a rock was rolling about. “Damn… Well, I guess it makes sense. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not going to say I like the idea of putting my life on the line for ponies that hate me.” It was my turn to look shameful. “But I don’t mind making everypony happy. I like that they will be able to survive now.”

“See!? I told you!” Cherry Bombs piped up again.

Nocturne Put her Hoof to the filly’s lips. “Hush now. You can talk after the grown-ups are done.”

Cherry scrunched up her nose and sat down, crossing her forelegs. “Fiiiiiiiine.” She huffed but kept silent.

“We’ve received a request for help from a small settlement that borders The Blood Swath. It serves as a waysta-”

I cut off Nocturne lightning quick. “I’m sorry, the what?! What the stars is the Blood Swath?” That sounded a little bit ominous! You know, just a LITTLE BIT!!!!!

Nocturne waved her hoof dismissively. “Oh don’t worry, you won’t actually be going into the Blood Swath. The town borders it and the southern path leading towards Canterlot and Neighlong.”

“Okay great, yeah. Cool. That still doesn’t answer my question. What is it?” I asked, shoving as much sarcasm into my words as possible.

Nocturne took a sharp breath and sighed. “I’m surprised the memory of that place hasn’t come back to you, honestly. Avoiding it is a daily way of life for everyone up north… Well, not the Hydra’s raider band of course. They cut through it all the time. The Blood Swath is the limit at which we were able push the wild life back. It’s several hundred miles of land cutting us off from the Frozen North. It’s filled with Hellhounds, Necrotic dragons, yaoguai, roving bands of malfunctioning robots, and the occasional Wargle. Basically, the Blood Swath is where the deadliest creatures in the wasteland live. Try to avoid it if you can.”

My mane was standing more at end than usual. Sure I could survive my head blowing up, okay no problem. But being eaten was something else. Wouldn’t I get digested? And what can robots do? I didn’t want to know! “You can bet your bippy I’m not going in there. I may have some kind of semi immortality thing going on but… I’m not willing to get eaten.” I had a vision being tied down and my limbs being torn off one at a time by hellhounds who wanted a never ending food supply.

Nocturne actually chuckled a bit at my horror. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t seem too urgent. It’s probably some timber wolves or a few feral ghouls.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Why don’t either of those sound pleasant either?”

This time Nocturne laughed aloud. “Don’t worry you’ll be fine. Go see Star Tumbler for more details. I’ll have Saint and Turnpenny go over your last assignment with me while you’re away.” Before leaving ear shot she stopped and looked back to me with a smile. “By the way, I’m enjoying your personality now that it’s coming back.” With that she turned and corner and out of sight.

I just sat there for a moment not sure about what she had meant. Did I not have a personality when I first showed up?” I looked down to Cherry Bombs. She had perked up and was looking up at me from all-fours.

“Yeah, no. You were Cata-matronic! Catatantic? Cata-um. Never mind it was a big word that Babs used!” She seemed very excited and eager to say something. “Can I say my thing now!?”

I looked around briefly, noting the severe lack of supervision over this filly. “Uh-um. Okay? You don’t need my permission. Go ahead.” Why the heck was she asking me? I wasn’t her keeper.

Cherry Bombs Yanked my foreleg, grabbing at my Pip-Buck. She hastily started fiddling with the dials as she spoke. “You’re famouserer now! I was telling Nocturne that that you really were good. Even if you were The Hydra, Gadgette fixed you! You’re just like her!” She dialed in to my radio and turned up the volume so that we could both hear.

A Surly Stallion’s voice came over the radio, the same voice that had mentioned me bringing Gadgette’s body back to hoofprint. “-Would you believe it folks? Those Gryphons sure know how to party. Now it’s time for your favorite Gem in the Wastes, Sapphire Shores.” A very jazzy song began to play over the radio that perfectly contradicted the general depression you feel in the wasteland.

Cherry Bombs frowned, sitting back on her haunches with a thump. “We gotta wait for the song.” She said as a matter of fact. “I hate songs, I wanna hear the news and commercials! Come on Pon-3!” She shook the device on my fore-leg like a toy.

I laughed a little bit, enjoying the up-beat toon and this mare’s raspy voice. “Shaking it isn’t going to make the song play any faster.” I was reasonably sure of that. “How about we head over to Star Tumbler while we wait for the news to come back on?”

The little filly huffed. She dropped my fore-leg and stood back up on all fours. “Okay fine. But stop whatever you’re doing when DJ Pon-3 comes back on. He’s been talking about you all day!”

“Sure sure.” We started walking towards the Safety and Security office, which was located down the main strip next to Nocturne’s office. Before the attack there was a big metal star above the door that read sheriff. All that was left now was metal frame work for the star and an outline where the years of wasteland dust hadn’t been able to build up on the wall quite yet. Somepony had hung up a trash can lid with the word ‘Sheriff’ Painted in bright yellow. The dinky sign was hung up in the center of the framework for the star.

It took us all of 10 minutes to walk to the sheriff’s office. In that time we stopped twice to listen to the DJ broadcast news about the wasteland. The first time it was just some news about ponies in the South organizing scavenger parties to attack the Pheonix’s old hideout and about a commotion happening with the ganglords in Philidelphia. Something about Mint being very bad. The second broadcast was weather and helpful tips. Both of which were obviously more of a joke than actual weather reports or tips.

As we pushed the door open on the Sheriff’s office the radio was putting out a much sadder song by a mare named Sweetie Belle. ‘Hush Now Quiet Now’ She sounded about as sad as the rest of the wasteland looked. “Howdy!” Shouted a contrastingly upbeat voice. Star tumbler leaped over her desk and hovered in the air. I thought Pegasus flight looked odd. They didn’t flap their wings very hard or fast but could flap about quite easily. What kind of magic did Pegasi use to fly? “I’m glad you’re here stripes. The faster we get that settlement safe the sooner supplies can be brought in from Neighlong.” She turned back towards her desk and then right back around to me to put a hoof on my muzzle. “Boop. Come on”

Confused, I walked up to the desk as Star Tumbler floated back over and plopped down into a squeaky office chair. Cherry Bombs stared intently at my foreleg ignoring all other distractions. I figured I would have to deal with this for awhile. “So Hoofprint already has supplies on the way?” I asked, turning my attention to the Mare at the desk.

“You bet! We’re a very important trading town and Neighlong can’t afford to lose us as partners. We are the only full sized town between Neighlong and the west coast cities on the other side of the Snowy Peaks. There is some unique scrap out that way that’s good for energy weapons and magic supplements like potions gem-packs” She shuffled some papers before continuing. “Needless to say, way stations like Dustoff are important to trade caravans since they generally carry extra food and ammunition to sell to the Caravaners. So! You’ll be heading to the little town of Dustoff to strut your stuff and show we’re tough.” She hoofed over a small Sack the made a hollow clinking sound. “Here is some caps for food while you’re there. I also requested that bumper blade you took from that tall Gryphon raider.” She motioned to the wall where the large sword was leaning up against the wall. Somepony has spray painted the Number 72 on it in the same fashion and color that it was written on my armor and the blue Jumpsuit underneath.

I trotted over and hefted the big blade up in my mouth to feel the weight. It was heavy! Had I really swung this thing in battle back then? It seemed cumbersome, but familiar. I swung it over my shoulder to rest on my back, supported by my saddle bags. “I’m guessing this thing is something I get to keep? Judging by the big ‘72’ written on it.” I asked, looking back to Star.

Star Tumbler nodded. “Yup, consider it a token of faith from the town council. We didn’t want you having any sort of ranged weapon long term. So while you were away we reinforced that blade and fixed it up. That way you can fight if needed but we will still have controlling range on you. Speaking of! I hear you need a new bomb collar! We have them here in our confiscated goods locker.” She flapped her way out from behind her desk and started down a hallway that lead deeper into the building. Oh great another slave collar. “They’re just right here.” She stopped after only a few steps, which wasn’t hard since the building was rather small, and began fiddle with a lock connected to a solid metal door. “This is where I keep ALL the contraband. High-explosives, banned chems, slaving goods, basashi-” There was a loud clunk and the door began to open up. “Ah! There it is! Fun fact, I only have this job cause I’m the only one who can open the locks. Lost the Keys years ago!” She quickly produced a neck-sized metal ring and a small electronic key that wrapped around her hoof. I was motioned me over.

I sighed as I reluctantly complied, beginning to regret my decision to not run away earlier. “Do I really need to? I didn’t run away or anything.”

“Well, Yes. It’s the terms of your service to Hoofprint.” Star Pressed the key to my neck and released the expended bomb collar. She was quite quick with placing the new one on and setting the detonation frequency. “No offense, But I feel safer with you wearing it. Who knows, maybe the towns ponies will come to a different decision after they listen to the reports from Saint and Turnpenny. But until then, You’re collared. Of course this time you won’t have saint with you so if you run off I have to chase you down.”

I stepped back, surprised. “I’m not being supervised?!”

Star Tumbler shook her head. “Nope. Saint, said you wouldn’t need it and Nocturne trusts him in an unhealthy way. My opinion.” Star relocked the safe and fluttered down the hallway and back to her desk. She picked up a paper and began reading from it. “You’ll be meeting up with the deputy at Dustoff. Says his name is Winks. Winks will give you the specifics since, and I quote, ‘none dis is fer what none of ya’s is being believ’n without seeinin it wit yer own eyes’. He ends the comment with a spit.” She showed me the letter which had the words ‘he spits’ written on it. “So yeah, meet up with him, do what he says and pick up the proof of completion once your done. Bring the proof of completion back here and you’re done. Simple!”

‘DUST UP IN DUSTOFF’

• Meet with Winks

The mission was given a clever name and appeared in front of my face. I wonder who decided this was a neat spell to put in pipbucks. It was more irritating than anything. “Okay, Should I meet with Tally for supplies or…?” I waved my hoof in a conversational manner before having it yanked down by a leaping filly.

“No wait everypony shut up for a second!” Cherry Bombs was fiddling with my Pip-Buck Raising the volume so everypony could hear again. I had turned it down earlier so I could speak with Star. “Oh this is it this is it! Listen!”

Needless to say, that smooth voiced Stallion came back over the radio. “Fillies and Gentlecolts! It’s you’re Marvelous master of Ceremonies, DJ Pon-3. And I’m here to bring you the NEWS!! As some of you may remember, sad times recently came across our beloved equestria with the news of the death of our favorite Maintenance Mare. However it seems like things are looking up. Somepony out there, no wait! Some ZEBRA out there is upholding her legacy. Wearing what looks like the very same armor The Maintenance Mare wore. This lone zebra sweet talked his way into the camp of the raider warlord known as The Phoenix and took her out in her own tent in what I can only assume was brutal hoof to hoof combat! I only say this cause he went in with, get this, NO WEAPONS! We lost track of him for a little while there but he was seen recently entering into Hoofprint along with a wagon load of rescued resources! For those of you who encourage the killing of psychopathic murderers, I suggest keeping an eye out for a large zebra with a big ol 72 painted on their barding and a blue stable-tech jumpsuit! If and when you see him, give him your thanks, or better yet, some ammo. For those of you living in the south, the roads will be a tad safer without that flying flaming menace. Two warlords still remain in the wasteland with the Hydra and Phoenix Resting in Pieces. Will the legacy of the Maintenance Mare continue to grow? And who is this mysterious Zebra 72? More News as it breaks. For now I leave you in the gentle hooves of Songbird Serenade.” An upbeat song with soul-searching undertones began to play over the radio as Cherry turned the volume back down.

My hoof was released but I was left staring at the little device in disbelief. How did he know all of that? I could understand him knowing that I walked up to the gate in Hoofprint with Gadgette’s body, there was probably a pony here with a radio to fill him in, but how on Equu did he know what had happened at the camp!? I mean he obviously got some things confused but he was pretty damned accurate! What was really confusing was how fast he had gotten his news. Nocturne hasn’t even been filled in yet and she’s literally right here.

“It’s true right!?” Cherry bombs said, breaking me out of my stupor. “You beat her up with your bare hooves!?” She started making karate moves. “I bet you were like… HYAA! Huah! Ya! And then, and then you said something super cool like. ‘Nice to, beat you’ and then laughed like the comic ponies!”

I placed hoof on my brand new bomb collar and looked over to Star Tumblr worriedly. I was searching for help, I didn’t want to pop this little fillies fantasy, but the truth was much darker than that. Star just shrugged. “Yeah. It was um... “ I glanced back over to her and gave her my best confident smile. “It was something like that. He got some stuff wrong, but nothing too important.”

Cherry Bombs Just beamed up at me, prancing in place briefly. “I KNEW it! I knew you were good! See, you’re not the Hydra! Maybe you have his body, but you’re a WHOOOOOLE different pony!” She paused briefly, looking at my coat before making eye contact again. “Oops. I mean. A Whole different ZEBRA!”

How could she be so sure? She may have been right but I had no idea who the Hydra really was. Right now I only had brief glimpses into The Hyrda’s life. I would have to think more about that later. For now I just didn’t want to kill Cherry’s good mood. I settled on smiling at her and nodding. “Maybe. I know I want to help at least.” I gently patted her head and finally let my hoof fall back to the ground.

Star Tumbler spoke up. “You know Cherry, that’s an awful big statement, considerin he’s still wearing that bomb collar.”

The little filly looked sternly up to Star Tumbler. “Well I’m standing by it! I’m a grown pony and I can make my own decisions about who I trust! I got my cutie mark and everything! See?” She showed off the image of two pink cherry-bombs tied together like cherries.

Star Tumbler couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sure sure. The town’s biggest trouble maker is a good judge of character? I’ll believe it when I see it.” She motioned to the door. “You two scamper off now. Tally has your rations Adstrum. Have an even’n.” She returned to her desk and started on the pile of paperwork she had put away earlier.

Guessing there wasn’t much else to discuss here at the time, I shrugged and started for the door. “C’mon Cherry, we should let her get to her work.” I made my way out onto the street and down the main road towards the gate. I started looking around for hints of where Tally’s office was. “So you’re the big trouble maker around here? Honestly I thought it would Beet God. He seems like trouble.”

I heard a sigh behind me before Cherry moved to a trot to catch up to me. “Yeah I’m in trouble the most. Beet’s a mean pony but he mostly sticks to himself. Really I’m just in trouble all the time cause I’m tryin to help! I’m just bad it. I break a lot of stuff.” She looked disappointed in herself but not sad.

oooOOOooo

“Hey, Can I tell you something? It’s been on my mind.” It was that mare, always talking. We’ve only been stuck down here for two days and she wouldn’t shut up.

I shook my head, trying to focus on digging through the collapsed mine shaft. “No.” I didn’t want to deal with more of her emotions nonsense. I just wanted to get home and take a few hits. Some Jet, Min-tals, a little Buck. I could imagine the drift into that high right now.

She continued anyway. “Well I actually break a lot of stuff. Way more than I fix things.” I just groaned in response to hearing her nasally voice. She started using the weird machine she made out of the mining tools. I was able to take a step back as she pushed the cart and the spinning wheel of pick-axes to the rubble. To my surprise her ridiculous creation was actually working, chewing away surely but slowly at the rubble. “I got kicked out of my home because of it… And to be honest, I think I’m breaking my new friends.”

I showed my appreciation for her new invention by offering advice, not that she deserved it after everything she’d done to me and my family. “Hmph. Do they still like you?” She nodded. “Then they’re family. Just stop trying to ‘fix’ them. Ponies don’t need fixing. You just need to love them like family.” She looked a little confused, so I offered an explanation. “That stallion you were with on your way in here. I heard your conversation before you attacked. He doesn’t want more friends, he’s happy just knowing you. Let him be happy.” I sat down, digging through what supplies I actually had on me. It was mostly the stuff Razor Back had on her before she died. “To be fair though, I’m going to kill you as soon as we’re free.”

The mare laughed a little. “To think, I’m getting friendship advice from a Raider King. Ministry Mare Twilight would have LOOOOVED you. You know, I think you’re actually a good and Kind Zebra. You just forgot how to be you.”

I rolled my eyes. “I change my mind. I’m going to torture you when we get out of here… THEN kill you.”

oooOOOooo

“Adstrum?” Came Cherry’s voice from the void of my own mind.

I shook my head and blinked my vision back into clarity. “Huh? What?” I looked around to get my bearings. We hard barely moved. “What happened?” I looked down at the concerned looking Filly.

Cherry shrugged. “I have no idea. You just froze up like a rad-stag and stared off at the clouds.” She started speaking in a whisper. “Did you really need to fart? I won’t tell anypony. Promise.”

“What? No! I… I think I remembered something.” I started dwelling on the memory. Was that Gadgette? She seemed very nice. But, the memory was more of a sore spot. Something bad had happened before we had gotten stuck in there… I just couldn’t remember what. “I don’t… I don’t think it’s important right now. Do you know where Tally works?”

My tiny companion seemed a tad concerned but nodded. “Yeah, follow me.”

We made it to the supplies office without anymore rogue memories crowding my thoughts. To be honest I was glad for the distraction of Cherry talking about all of the things she’s done in town. It kept my thoughts from the more troubling emotions that was brought back with the most recent flashback. I wondered if I was going to have to deal with this often.

Tally provided me with several days worth of supplies, fresh food and clean water, since I was able to bring back everything that had been lost. I made sure to thank her and apologize for how I had behaved earlier. She seemed to be much happier for the apology and actually cried in relief. Her emotions seemed to vary widely in comparison to everypony else. I was going to have to keep that in mind whenever I dealt with her.

After collecting my supplies I went over to the gate and let the guards know I was heading out. I turned to Cherry as the gate began grinding open. “Alright, hey stay out of trouble while I’m gone okay? And uh… It’s okay to break things. Just make sure you’re breaking the right stuff.” I hoped that was sage like advice. I did get a bright smile and a wave from her, so that made me happy. I turned off toward the road and started walking. I was able to pick the correct road because the pip-buck provided a helpful little arrow on my compass the pointed towards my destination.

I had to admit, the titles for my jobs was lame but the little waypoints was very helpful. I had to admit, walking around by myself felt pretty nice. Though, the urge to run away was overwhelming even after only a few minutes of leaving Hoofprint’s walls. I mean, I could still see the walls and I was trying to figure out how far I’d get before the bomb collar exploded and if I would regenerate my head again before Star Tumbler flew out to me and picked me up. It didn’t help that my thoughts turned back to how the towns ponies treated me. I was a Zebra no pony liked, walking alone, to do something no pony would appreciate. I was the literal definition of an outcast. A Pariah.

Yeah, I liked that word. It felt good to say it aloud. “Pariah.” I said to no pony in particular. That’s what I would call myself from now on. The Pariah… No that’s dumb. Pariah 72! No that was bad also.

I’m pretty sure I spent the next 3 or 4 hours just trying to come up with some new title to give myself that matched how I felt. Something better than Hydra, which had a sour taste to it. At this point the light filtering in through the clouds was growing dim, I noticed a small dot in the distance pacing back and forth. The dot looked troubled so I decided to investigate. It was on my way, so why not? I picked up my pace and made toward the dot at a light trot.

It wasn’t long until the dot noticed me and started waving to get my attention. It was a Stallion trader, he was standing around what looked like a wrecked up camp and a very dead brahmin. The Brahmin looked completely mutilated as though a savage beast had decided it needed a tasty snack. “Oi! Oi, you there! I could use a hoof if you’d like some caps stranger!”

I smiled a bit, I could always use caps. It would be nice to buy my own stuff. I waved back to him. “Sure thing stranger! I’ll be right there!” I picked up my trot to show a level of urgency and willingness to help. When I got there I was able to see the trader more clearly. He didn’t look all that memorable but he kept a bandolier of shotgun shells strapper to him and a very fancy double barreled shotgun slung at his side. He didn’t have a battle saddle so I assumed he was a unicorn, though I couldn’t see his horn. He was wearing a very wide brimmed hat, decorated with shiny pieces of scrap that I assume indicated status of some sort.

The campsite was an absolute wreck, having been shredded by claws and shotgun pellets alike. “Oh stars, what happened here?” I said allowed as I approached the trader.

The trader groaned a bit, embarrassed by his situation. “Ugh, Some wild beast attacked us last night. Caught us by surprise it did. I thought we were well clear of the Blood Swath.”

Before the conversation went any further, there was a yawn from what remained of the tent. “Daddy? Who’s that?” A sleepy filly, no older than maybe 5 or 6 stepped out rubbing her eyes.

“Oh it’s just a stranger who said he’d help Shelly, Why don’t you start packing up your stuff. Okay?” The trader turned to me before continuing. “Oh how about these manners of mine. Name’s Gun, Gun Powder. That’s my daughter, Shell Powder. And you are?” He extended a hoof out to me with an uneasy smile, sizing me up. I’m guessing it wasn’t as easy to trust me as he made it seem.

I met his hoof with my own, making a light clicking sound. “Ponies call me Adstrum. I’m sort of a Pariah.”

Gun Powder seemed slightly more at ease since I didn’t outright attack him. “Oh well nice to meet ya, Adstrum.” He glanced back to his daughter before leaning in to whisper to me. “Hey now lad, please don’t take offense here but, please don’t talk with my daughter there. I’m more or less okay with zebras bein zebras, but I’m tryin to protect her as much I can, y’know.” He gave me an honest look of concern.

How in the ancestors many tales could I not be offended? Then again it seemed to be a common theme; The ponies back in Hoofprint were calling me Stripe not to long ago. I decided to look past it for now, he was trying to be ‘nice’ at least. “Sure, friend. No offense taken.” I lied as I set about looking around the camp. “So what needs to be carried and where are you heading?”

Gun Powder started pointing things out we began picking up up the poor Two headed beast of burden no longer could. It was mostly suitcases of supplies and some lock boxes filled with more expensive items. He had to strap them to me with the bloodied ropes that once tied the items to the brahmin. “Poor Bob and Rob got killed in the night on our way to Hoofprint. We were gonna sell food supplies there since there was a raider attack recently. Bout most of our stock is gone now. So… I guess we’re just gonna have to head back to Dustoff and see what they’ll buy it for there.”
I nodded in understanding as I loaded another suitcase onto my growing pile of things to carry. All the extra weight was heavy, but it was nothing compared to the large blade on my back. “I’m sorry to hear about your brahmin friend. It work out for me though, I’m on my way to help out in Dustoff anyway. Seems like they’re having a pest problem. I’m guessing they’ll be happy for the food.”

That statement seemed to brighten up the trader’s day. Gun cracked a genuine smile a chuckle softly. “Well, at least there’s that, ey? I’ll be callin you my good luck charm for that, lad.” He pointed over to the tent after magically tieing on the last of the supplies. So he was a unicorn! “Shelly, roll up that tent!”

“But daddy it’s all broken!” She complained.

Gun Powder got a bit testy. “Now don’t be askin questions of your father. We’ll sell the scraps for a new one. Now get it rolled up.” With that, the conversations were done. We started out as soon as the tent was packed away into Shelly’s own little pack.

For the most part the trip was silent, Gun Powder wanting to keep conversation with ‘The Zebra’ down to a minimum. Thought there was a moment where he asked me a question that seemed to be burning him up inside. “So uh… Adstrum, was it?” I nodded as I turned my attention his way. “Tell me about yourself will you? How is it there, that you got that armor? I didn’t know they let Zebras into stables… Again, no offense to you lad. Pre-war times were much different you know.”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, clearly not that different. “Oh this? This was the armor of a mare called Gadgette Springs. She uh… She kind of left it behind and the town of Hoofprint gave it to me. Same with this Pip-Buck. I carried her back to town after she died. I guess it’s their way of thanking me.”

I have to admit, it was kind of pleasing to see this stallion’s jaw hit the ground so fast. He looked completely embarrassed. “You’re THAT stranger? I-I-I’ve heard of you! Oi, goddesses bless me heart. I never expected you to be a Zebra! Yup, heard about you a week and some ago. Course I avn’t seen a radio in days. How is Hoofprint? What happened to poor ol’ Gadgette? I mean, I never met her but I listened to her exploits bout every day. Now Lad, I tell you she was a true hero.”

As much as I knew I should agree with him about that, something in the back of my mind kept tell me he was wrong. I wanted so bad to tell him she wasn’t a hero, she was barely a friend. I settled for just shaking my head in a non-committal way. I was at odds with my own thoughts and couldn’t bring myself to speak on the issue. I kept seeing the things she had done and the lives she had changed. By all definition she was a hero, yet in spite of that knowledge I kept hearing a tiny voice in the back of my head crying about how that’s not what she was.

“Ya don’t think so?” Asked Gun Powder, confused. “Why not? She built a whole town, saved ponies, killed raiders, even slain the ol’ dragon lord ghoul. She connected the east and west coasts. Why, if it weren’t for her I doubt I’d be alive right now. This trade route fed me family.”

Suddenly I was being asked about things I didn’t know. My mind began racing as I tried to think up a suitable response. What do ponys say when they disagree but also agree? Should I tell him about my memory loss? No he would figure out who I was. What about saying I wasn’t sure why? He would just ask how I couldn’t be sure. I started looking around for a change of subject but saw nothing but grey skies and barren hills. “Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh” Wait, did that come out of my mouth? Is that all I had to say? Dumb.

Gun Powder waived his hoof dismissively. “Pffft. Ya don’t even know why you disagree. Never mind it. I just hope ye can live up to that armor you’re wearin.” I noticed his accent get thicker as his emotions flared up. He was genuinely upset that I disagreed with him. To be fair though, I was upset that I disagreed with him also. Something in the back of my head told me that I was just going to have to deal with it.

We made camp that night right along the road next to a pre-war bus stop that passing traders had turned into instant lodging for those traveling the road. It had rails extending from it that made two box-like tents if you placed canvas overtop of them and had a well pump nearby for water. Gun Powder told me he would take watch for the night, stating that while he ‘trusted’ me enough that he would be negligent as a father to let anyone else do it. While insulted, I was more or less fine with it since it meant I would get to sleep.

Though I got some use out of my bedroll and a pillow that was leant to me, I didn’t sleep much that night. Gun Powder woke me up around midnight due to some noises he heard. I grabbed my bumper blade and started patrolling for the noise. It wasn’t long before I heard it also. It was a deep growl, like a predator stalking prey. I could only assume it was the same creature that had attacked them the night before.

It happened suddenly. The creature lept from its hiding spot, a patch of shadowy rocks just outside of the light in the camp. A great hairy beast with claws like daggers lept out to attack Gun Powder. I felt my blood pumping and everything slowed down to a crawl just like it had back in the Bottling Plant. And just like back then I saw the great beast caught in mid flight. An albino hellhound attacking with murderous intent. This time everything was a little more clear and I had some time to think. The creature’s whole body was selecting in an outline and given a percentage to hit. MY Pip-Buck was auto targeting the creature for me and showing that I had a 100% chance to hit, even at some distance. Damn that as some kind of magic.

I decided to follow through on the attack and felt my energy physically drain from me as I crossed the distance between me and the creature in a flash. With blade in mouth I swung automatically, trusting my instincts to guide my strike. I felt the impact as the blade depressed into the armored skin of the hellhound. An audible crack went through the air as the world went back to normal speed and the hellhound was launched back into the shadows with a shattered foreleg. For a brief moment there was silence, broken by a few thuds, and then the whimpers of hurt creature scampering away. “Tafe taft! Ann Dohn comf bapp!” I shouted through the blade’s handle.

I looked over to Gun Powder who had fallen back onto his rump. “Wh-what? Lad you’re… Way too strong.” he stated with a half smile, looking to me with a wide scared eyes.

I rolled my eyes, putting my Bumper Blade back onto my back. “You’re welcome. I’m going back to bed.” I yawned, trying to play it off as something I did all the time. In truth my heart was still racing. I fought off one of those monsters twice now! Those things were utterly terrifying! I doubted I would actually sleep afterwards.

Gun Powder called back out to me. “Oi lad… You’re pretty great, y’know. Thanks.”

I tried my best to ignore him, trying to be cool, and went into my tent. I don’t know what possessed me to act like that but, it felt nice. I got to secretly be proud of myself and also make ponies think I was aloof or something.

After gloating to myself about how cool I must have looked and cleaning the blood off of my bumper blade, I layed down to sleep again. It never came though. I pretty much just layed down with my ears perked up listening for anything more than the sound of Gun Powder’s hoof steps. The daytime came slowly, paranoia keeping me from letting my guard down.

When the sunlight began filtering through the ever present cloud layer we all packed up camp and made way again. Gun Powder began falling asleep as we walked, I assumed from the stress and having not slept at all. I remembered the Fizz-Bites I had in my pack and gave him a few. He perked up quickly and seemed to be able to trot for the whole day without rest. Damn those things were powerful! I would have to remember those if I ever find myself in a similar jam.

The Fizz Bites seemed to last all day, finally beginning to wear out just around nightfall. Gun Powder suggested that I take watch tonight, I assume having saved his life provided him with the ability to trust me. I kept watch through the night, but nothing interesting happened. I must admit though, it was nice to have somepony trust me for once. I mean truly trust me, on my own merits. It was a warm fluttery feeling that made me want to stand tall. I really liked it.

We finally arrived at Dustoff. It was a sad looking little down that consisted of about 4 shacks and a ramshackle barn, complete with fence. There was also a small pre-war ticket booth, that was far too out of place to have been here originally, next to a table with some books on it. According to Gun Powder only 3 ponies actually live here, everypony else is a passing trader or wanderer.

I carried the Powders’ goods and luggage over to the Ticket Booth and was unloaded by a well dressed stallion who didn’t speak much. He was a crawny blue stallion with the physique one can only achieve through inbreeding of some sort. He had one tooth that was far too large for his jaw and he was lacking eyebrows, which was a tad unnerving. Despite his inability to win a beauty pageant, he was remarkably well dressed. Instinctually looking towards his flank, I saw that his cutie mark was a needle and thread. He clearly had a talent that suited him. He was wearing possible the cleanest, most well pressed clothing I had ever seen, at least that I could remember.

“You ‘ave yerself a good trip mister Zeebray?” The Stallion asked, unloading the last of the extra baggage from my back.

I nodded, feeling the urge to correct his pronunciation. “Zebra, and yes I did. Thank you for asking. I’m here to speak with umm…” The name of the person I was supposed to meet slipped my mind. “ Ahem. I’m from Hoofprint. I was sent to solve your pest problems?”

“Oh! Celeschyas’ sun songs. Please fergive me mister. Ah don’ reckin’t you were with them there ponies right that way.” Pointed to the Powders who were only a few feet to the side. “Iffin I’d known I’d woun’t a’ve tried tah be all pretty like. Want me ta take these here inside?”

I shook my head, most of what he was saying sinking in slowly. “Oh um. No these boxes and stuff belong to the powders. I just helped them out a bit. Just uh, Take me to your leader I guess? Thanks for the offer though umm...”

The Stallion clopped one hoof off of his head. “Oh JEEZ s’cuse me right good sir.” He picked up my hoof, which was massive in comparison to his own, and tried his best to shake it. “Please lemme intraduce maself. I’m Thin Line, son an’ brother to Winks an’ Just son ta Mama Mingles. Ah, handle the visiteers to ol’ Dustoff here. Launderyin’, Medicine, Carryin’, Fetchinin. Ah do most everythin’. Cookin’ and handlin the youngins is mah sister. All that there money stuff is Pops, and Mama Helps lonely folks feel better. Welcome tah Dustoff!”

I Blinked, I think. It took me a moment to refocus of the excited Thin Line as I digested everything he told me. “So you’re the… You do most of the chores and the daycare stuff, Your sister does the booking, Winks likes honey and Mama is very lonely?” I asked, hoping I had picked up everything correctly.

Thin line got this worried look on his face before continuing. “No… no not quite. Ah, handle the visiteers to ol’ Dustoff here. Launderyin’, Medicine, Carryin’, Fetchinin. Ah do most everythin’. Cookin’ and handlin the youngins is mah sister. All that there money stuff is Pops, and Mama Helps lonely folks feel better.” He took a moment to pause. “Got it that time?”

“Absolutely.” I had no idea what he was saying.

Thin Line swung his hoof. “Hoowee! We’re sure are glad yer here mister. I’ll take ya over ta Pops. What’s yer name anyhow?”

I began following Thin Line as he began trekking through the few buildings that were here. The Powders seemed to be left to their own devices. I didn’t see anypony in the ticket booth to take care of them. “Oh, they call me Adstrum. Though the Radio is calling me Zebra 72.”

Thin Line nodded energetically. “Oh yeah? Probably on account of that there 72 on yer chest an’ that yer all striped up. Warnin to ya. This is probably bout as far yer gunna get with ponies not carin much about yah bein what them smart ponies’d call ponyficiously challenged.”

I knew he meant well but I couldn’t help but feel insulted. “Pony-what?”

“Any way we’re here.” He opened up the barn’s door to reveal a surprisingly well built home made from scrap wood and metals. We entered into a ‘room’ with a metal stove, table, and a pile of stocked goods. Sitting at the table was a raggedy looking stallion who was slumped over on the table cradling a bottle of whiskey that he had procured from the shelf on the wall that was lined with similar bottles. The midnight purple earth pony had only one eye, a bit of dried glass in his mouth and a surprisingly well kept straw hat. “PAAHH!!” Thin line shouted so loud that the hungover stallion probably lept 10 feet straight up in the air. “That exterminator ‘s here!” He said a little quieter before making his exit.

The pony I assumed was Winks began mumbling incoherently as he struggled to get a grasp on his surroundings. His one good eye finally found me after a few seconds of darting around. He crawled out of his seat, knocking over his whiskey bottle, and walked over to me. The alcoholic beverage began dripping on to the floor as he began trying to talk. “Gld yer heer hvn sm problmn gunna beet m bign RATS!” He extended his hoof out, which I met with my own. “C’mere thsn th’way.” He mumbled, clearly on the verge of falling back asleep.

I was able to figure out he wanted me to follow him since he waved his hoof for me to follow but didn’t understand a single other word. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t quite hear you.” He mumbled something that resembled the previous sounds he made. “Can you please speak up? I’m not hearing you at all Winks.”

Winks had lead me through his short home and opened up the door to the fenced in part of the field at this point. He cleared his throat as he revealed his issue “AH SAY’D! Ahm’ Glad yer here! Havin’ some dere biggun rat problims!” What was in front of me was a wholey greusome sight. Winks’ family kept a deal of pigs that I guessed was used to feed the meat eating geusts, but about 6 of them were nothing more that gorey piles on the ground. There were only a hoof-full of these creatures left to sustain Dustoff.

I stepped out of the barn and into the pig stye, looking about in disbelief. “Oh my stars. Winks, I don’t think it’s rats…” I was noticing some very familiar clawing marks on the walls and fence.
Winks waddled up to me trying to see the same things I was looking at. “What’chu mean Zeber?”

“Adstrum, I corrected him.” I pointed out some of the best examples of the clawing. “I saw this type of clawing recently. A Hellhound attacked the Powders on their way to hoofprint. Then again on the way back here.”

Winks blinked in shock, giving the appearance of him winking at me rapidly. So that’s where he got his name. “Hellunds!? Ah consarnit!” He kicked the dirt in anger. “Dern thin’ shulda thrown em in some dynamite when i’d been seenin that creature runnin intah that ther cave!”

Now I didn’t catch most of what he said but I had clearly heard enough. “Wait you’ve seen it in a cave? I’m willing to bet that’s where it lives! I can head over there now and take care of it for you.”

Shockingly enough, Winks laughed at my proposal, an odd half cough half laugh that was mixed into some more words I couldn’t understand. It ended in a high pitched wheeze as he hit the floor.

“What?! I can fight a hellhound. I’ve already done it twice now.” This was answered with more laughter from the inbred pony. I rolled my eyes. “Just point me at the damned cave.” I practically had to growl at this idiot to get him to take me seriously. He pointed vaguely in a direction and my PipBuck tagged it. Apparently a vague direction was all it needed.

‘DUST UP IN DUSTOFF’

• Meet with Winks [Complete]
• Deal with Hellhound

My PipBuck updated me with my current objective and I began following the marker that showed up on my E.F.S. . There wasn’t any roads so I just lept the little fence and started north towards the blip. Heading north, seemed a bad idea to me for some reason but I couldn’t remember why. I shrugged off my concerns and marched toward the problem. Whatever it was I would have remembered it if it were ‘that’ bad right?

The short trot to the cave only took a few minutes but it was well hidden amongst the many small hills this area had. It would have taken hours to find this place if my E.F.S. hadn’t simply pointed it out for me. The entrance to the cave was relatively clean, but scuff marks and drag lines were proof of recent use. There weren’t many marks so there was probably only two or three in there tops.

I began to slowly creep into the cave. The cave itself twisted and turned, ideal for shelter from the wind. The passage was surprisingly narrow for somewhere I would imagine a Hellhound wanting to live. I had to struggle to keep my Large blade from scraping against the walls.

After making the first bend, avoiding making sound by a narrow margin, I was able to hear sounds coming from deep inside the cave. From here the light could not reach and the cave walls expanded greatly, making every sound echo like crazy. Luckily the Hellhound was moaning and groaning so loud that whatever sounds I did make was drowned out. I could only guess that this was the same one I had hurt the night before. Was it licking its wounds?

For the first couple of seconds the cave was pitch black but my eyes began to adjust rapidly, tinting the world in black and white. It was still difficult to make out every shape and detail but I was able to see everything within 10 feet or so. This night-vision allowed me to navigate the tunnel fairly well. I wondered if this was a natural trait or some other strange thing that The Hydra can do.

It wasn’t long before I began to see a warm glow in the distance. A wide crevice, with what smelled like toxic waste flowing into it, was emitting the orange glow of fire. This must be it.

I crept forward, lowering to the ground to try and erase my presence more. My Pip-Buck began displaying [HIDDEN] at the top of my vision. Huh, this thing is very useful. As I approached the crevice I began sticking my head out to peak around the corner discreetly. I wanted a good count of how many targets there were before I ambushed them.

What I saw was strange. There was only one hellound. She laying up against the cave wall pushing a thick flexible rod in and out of her lower- oh shit! Just then I began feeling a certain tightness in my lower regions. What the hell is this? Monsters masturbate?! And why did I find this arousing? I was just about fed up with this habit of mine, getting horny over every little sexual thing.

I shook my head, I had to do my job. Get in, kill her, go home. I pulled away from the opening, trying to gather my thoughts. But wasn’t it rude to interrupt someone doing this kind of thing? I mean, everyone deserves to squeeze out a little bit of joy from this harsh world right? Yeah, that’s definitely right.

I resolved to let her finish and sat down, still trying to stay as quiet as possible. Of course this put me into a new dilemma. After a few minutes, that tightness still hadn’t gone away and I kept finding my hoof wondering near the hatch in my armor. Come to think about it, I hadn’t… I mean not for real… not that I remembered. I had been too busy thinking about the horrible future I was about to be a part of.

The buttons holding everything in place uncliped rather quietly and the cool air let me know I was free. I bit my lower lip as I listened in on the hellhound. This was crazy, she was a murder machine and only 15 feet away. If I made a noise that was just slightly too loud she would chop off my head and eat me until there was nothing left in seconds. Of course, none of this ‘logic’ nonsense mattered to my loins. It seemed that the danger of it all and thinking about it just made things worse. I had to relieve this and my hoof was more than happy to oblige.

After a minute or two, I became desperate to finish before the creature in the other room. I could finish faster if I could watch right? That’s what got this started to begin with. It was a calculated risk. I peeked through the crevice, moving faster as I caught sight of the new position the hellhound had moved into. But, stars am I bad at math. All in a heartbeat I heard the clattering of stone and began to free-fall forward.

I clenched my teeth, expecting to slam headfirst into the ground, but was surprised to remain suspended in the air. In possibly the loudest screeching sound imaginable, my Bumper blade became wedged in a narrow section of the crevice. “Oh FUCK!” I shouted out of instinct, my stallionhood dangling down and vulnerable.

The moaning stopped, as claws began to scratch against the stone. I looked up to see the hellhound rising to her hind legs, processing that there was an intruder in her home. I began to panic, knowing I had been caught, and tried to wiggle myself and my sword free. I had to start the attack right now. I began pushing against the ground, trying to force the sword upward to where the gap was slightly wider.

Frequent glances up at the hellhound revealed that it had fully digested the idea that I was intruding and began to walk slowly towards it’s helpless prey. I was going to die for real this time. I don’t think there is a coming back from being eaten! I could hear it panting heavily as it got closer and closer.

The stone above me finally began to give way. Loud scraping sounds were followed by tiny stones crumbling around me. Before I could get any further with freeing my weapon I heard a large claw slap down above me, holding the Bumper Blade in place. I looked up in a panic, coming face to face with the lower end of the hellhound. I could smell her, she wasn’t done. My little guy decided death was as appropriate a time as any to get rock hard again. Damn it, at least let me die with a little dignity.

Her hind legs backed away as she lowered her head to be face to face with me. She was still panting, with a tired look in her eyes that spoke of an weary intelligent creature. Her jowls smacked together a couple times, revealing lengthy canines that were razor sharp, before returning to the same heavy panting as before.

Just then she opened her jaws, ready to take the first bite! I closed my eyes, accepting my fate of being dog food. “Ponies, too?” Came a deep gruff female voice.

I felt a tugging at my bomb collar. I dared a glance up and saw that she wasn’t trying to remove my head from my neck. Instead she was just standing there, panting. “Pony hates too?” She said through panting breaths.
“Uhhh, yes?”

____________________________________________________________________________

Questperk added: Zebra Augmented - You have been augmented by zebra magic and potions at some point. You gain a +1 to you STR and END, gain +10 DT, and darkvision up to 10 ft. While in no-light conditions your eyes emit a faint glow that is visible by other up to 10ft away. You will now age very slowly.

Footnote: Level Up!

Footnote: Level 6

Perk Added: Dash N’ Slash - You may now move up to your full movement and then make a melee or unarmed attacked as a standard action without using your movement action, similar to a charge. You may also perform any melee or unarmed skill based action instead of an attack.