Fallout Equestria: Heartless

by dmgd_mind

Chapter 10: Clear River

Chapter 10: Clear River

“I’m, uh, Headcrash by the way,” the green unicorn announced as he led Canter, Riverbed, and me towards his companions. After we had packed up camp we had set out, according to the unicorn the rest of the slaves were a ten-minute trot away. Up until he spoke the last eight minutes had passed by in awkward silence.

“I’m Canter,” the white mare responded from my side.

“I’m Night,” I said, having decided to adopt the moniker permanently. Canter was right, I wanted to stay as the new me, the more of my old life I could leave behind the better.

I won’t disappear that easily.

“Nice to meet you. I’m going to pretend you sticking a gun in my face didn’t happen.” Headcrash joked. He looked over his shoulder at River, “You’re Riverbed, right? The ferrymare?”

She nodded an affirmative.

“I thought I had recognized you.” Headcrash smiled, “I’m glad you made it out.”

River nodded again.

“Alright,” the unicorn stated, “They should be right up there.” He pointed to a small hillock with a few large boulders concealing its top. He moved up a little ways and called out softly, “It’s ok everypony, it was the stallion that rescued us.”

A brown pony’s head popped out from behind one of the rocks, the pony that I had gotten to release the others. “I-I did what you said! I let them all out, see?” he motioned behind him. “Don’t hurt me…”

I felt Canter’s eyes on me and I turned guiltily to face her. She shook her head, looking disappointed, and left me crestfallen.

I was just trying to protect you Luna. Leave. Canter isn’t Luna.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I called up to the pony, attempting to redeem myself a little in Canter’s eyes. “You did a good job.” I turned back to Canter, hoping for some semblance of approval. She didn’t look quite as disappointed in me anymore, but it was still there.

“Come on up,” Headcrash offered as he started up the little hill. We followed him up into a small opening in the midst of the boulders. A loose conglomeration of ponies, all slaves from Laketown, was arranged around the area. I took a quick head count, there were 18 of them including Headcrash. They were carrying a random assortment of equipment and weapons looted from the burning town. A few were keeping watch at the edges of the hilltop. They cheered as they saw me.

It felt strange being praised by these strangers. It didn’t feel anywhere near as good as Canter’s praise, but it didn’t feel bad either.

“Alright everypony, this is Night,” Headcrash began as he motioned to me, “He’s agreed to find us somewhere to go.”

“What!? His name’s not Night,” the brown pony exclaimed. I winced, knowing what was coming. “He’s Void. The Monster of Manehattan.”

The cheer in the air immediately dissipated, replaced by an unnerving tension. All the ponies’ eyes were on me, some showed fear, some showed hate, and some showed a mix of both. Both Riverbed and Headcrash took a few steps away from me.

“You…you bastard!” a yellow mare shouted at me, a hysterical mix of hate and grief in her voice. “You were the one who killed my husband and son!” As she shouted this she charged recklessly at me, having completely forgotten about the pistol at her side.

I side-stepped her attack and bucked hard, using her momentum to kick her into one of the boulders with a sickening crunch. She struggled to get up, coughing blood and cursing my name. I drew my shotgun, ready to finish her off. I could feel the other slaves watching in breathless silence, waiting to see what I would do.

Finish her off before the rest attack me. I know.

I felt a gentle hoof on my shoulder and heard a quiet voice speak into my ear, “Don’t Night. Fight it. Don’t give in to your past.” I tensed up, my instincts fighting my feelings. The mare stumbled and fell in a heap, sobbing in between coughs of blood. I holstered my weapon and reached into my saddlebag, pulling out one of the health potions I had purchased in Laketown.

I handed the vial to Canter. “Somepony will have to set her ribs straight or the potion will fuse them crooked,” I said as I turned to Headcrash. The feeling of tension still remained, but I no longer felt the other ponies were on the verge of attacking us.

Headcrash hesitated briefly, and then turned to purple unicorn with a bandage for a cutey mark. “Bandaid, can you reset her ribs?”

The unicorn nodded and walked over to the injured mare, keeping one eye on me the whole time. She concentrated and a magical field of energy wrapped around the mare’s chest. The pony screamed as her ribs were shifted back into place. “Okay, give her the potion now.” Bandaid instructed. Canter knelt at her side and gently poured the healing solution down her throat.

I turned to the watching ponies. “I’m not Void anymore,” I stated firmly.

---

“What about New Appleloosa?” I suggested as Headcrash, the other slaves, and I looked over my map. The tension in the air was slowly fading. The mare that had attacked me still looked at me with hate, but if she was going to attack me again she was biding her time.

“No way,” one of the ponies piped up, “They did business with the slavers at Laketown.”

A chorus of agreements followed the buck’s statement.

“How about Tenpony? Or Arbu?” another suggested.

“One, we don’t have anywhere near the money to get into Tenpony, and two, we don’t have the supplies to get through Manehattan.” A pony named Red-tape stated. He appeared to be the escaped slaves’ unofficial leader.

“What about the Equestria National Prison?” Bandaid suggested hopefully, “Didn’t Laketown wipe the raiders out again a month ago?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Red-tape started, “We could make a new home there.”

“We passed it on our way here,” I stated flatly, “there were raiders.”

The group of ponies sat in silence before Headcrash spoke up, the first time he had talked since the brief fight an hour earlier. “How many were there?”

“What?” I asked, hoping he was not going to suggested what I thought he was.

“Well, if there’s not a lot we can fight them with your help. And if there are a lot of them, if you can sneak me into the prison so I can reactivate the defenses and blow the fuck out of the raiders.” He grinned and motioned to his flank, his cutey mark was a computer hard-drive being cut in half by a hatchet. “I don’t have this for nothing!”

The ponies began speaking up, almost unanimously behind Crash’s plan. I sighed and put a hoof to my forehead. I had promised I would help. Canter rubbed up against me and whispered, “If anyone can do it it’s you Night.”

“I…” I began, “Fine. That could work.”

“Alright then!” Red-tape exclaimed, “We can head out in the morning, we’ll get to the prison around midday”

I sighed again and began to move off with Canter to find a spot to spend the rest of the night. Before I had taken a couple of steps I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see River holding her board up.

Monster of Manehattan?

I frowned, trying to think of a response. “Come with us and I’ll tell you a bit.”

River shook her head and wrote something else on her board.

As long as it’s behind you I don’t want to know. But are you really not that pony anymore?

“Yes,” Canter stated from my side, projecting her belief in me into her voice, “He’s a new pony. He’s Night.”

---

“This is a bad idea,” I whispered to Headcrash as I stared through my scope at the prison. We were hidden on the top of the valley wall, overlooking the massive structure. There weren’t any raiders in the prison yard but I could occasionally see them moving about inside the prison. “There’s no way you could win in a fight against them even with my help. At least not without heavy losses.” I glanced over at the rag-tag group of escaped slaves and cringed. They looked like they would have trouble taking down a radroach.

“So let’s get in there and turn on the defenses. Tear those bitch raiders to pieces.” Headcrash returned quietly.

“As much as I hate that idea, we have a better chance doing that than a frontal assault.” I sighed and began packing up my rifle.

Red-tape walked over as quietly as he could, “what’s going on.”

“We’re going to get fucked up if we try to attack them so me and Vo-I mean Night are going to sneak in.” Headcrash answered.

“We’re waiting till nightfall,” I stated.

“Yeah, that.” Crash continued.

“Alright. Night, what should we do?” Red-tape asked, motioning towards the slaves.

“Hide up here. If we haven’t made it back by the morning you will have to find somewhere else to go.”

Luna. Canter

I drew up close to the pony and whispered in his ear, “If I don’t come back you are going to protect Canter with your life, or else I will fight through the demons of hell and the laws of the goddesses and return just to drag you back with me.” I meant it too, and Red-tape saw it in my eye. He nodded frantically in agreement before walking over to the assembled slaves.

“Night and Crash are going to sneak into the prison after nightfall and kill the raiders. We’re going to wait for them here,” he announced with a surprisingly steady voice considering how frightened he had been moments ago.

I walked over to Canter and kissed her. Her eyes briefly widened in surprise at the unexpected gesture before she fell into the emotion of the moment. I slowly drew away. “If…if I don’t make it back…Red-tape has promised to protect you.”

She shook her head, “Let me come with you.” She nuzzled at my neck.

“I can’t. It’ll be way too dangerous for you.” I sighed and kissed her again. “Believe me, I would like nothing more than you to accompany me but I couldn’t live with myself if anything were to happen to you.”

“I…I understand.” She answered softly, “be safe.”

I smiled at her, “We still have the rest of the day.”

We moved off a ways from the group and laid down in the dead wasteland grass covering the ground.

---

We had spent the day in each other’s hooves, just peacefully enjoying the other’s presence. I realized at some point we had fallen asleep as somepony shook me awake. Canter moaned peacefully next to me and stretched as I stood up.

“Time to go Night,” Crash stated, “sorry for the interruption but night fell about an hour ago.”

I nodded and turned to Canter. I leaned down and kissed her one last time. “Be safe,” she whispered.

Crash and I moved to a small pathway down to the valley floor, but were stopped by a cloaked figure holding up a board. A revolver was holstered at her side.

I’m coming with you. I have a score to settle with these raiders.

I opened my mouth to argue, but stopped when I saw the look in her eyes. The yellow orbs were full of a cold, calculating hatred.

“Alright River, just make sure you do what I say, alright?” I asked the small mare.

She nodded in agreement and the three of us headed down to the prison.

I led us past the empty raider barricades and up to the building’s yard. We passed the watchtowers without incident and made it to the main entrance. I motioned for my companions to move to the side and wait as I peeked inside. A trio of raiders was sitting around a small fire, talking and laughing.

I moved back to Crash and River, outlining a plan. “There are only three of them in the main entrance. You two cover me and I’ll take them out, clear?” The pair nodded in understanding and we moved up to the doorway.

Crash stumbled on a stone and I tensed, expecting the raiders to attack us, whooping and hollering, but all I heard was laughter in response to a crude joke. My companion’s took up their positions with pistols drawn and I silently moved up behind the closest raider.

“Oh shit!” one of the group yelped, noticing me, but it was too late. I wrapped my forelegs around the raider’s neck and twisted, hearing her spine snap with a pop. I ducked a blow from a heavy machete and tripped the raider carrying it. He managed to cut his leg as he fell, yelping in pain. I turned to the last raider, a skinny colt wielding a pool cue. He swung it at me and I caught it in midair, tearing it out of the surprised foal’s mouth. I broke it against the ground, leaving the end a sharp and jagged point, and impaled the raider with it. He coughed blood and fell to the ground, grasping at the air. A sharp crack echoed through the area and I felt something heavy hit my back. I rolled out from under the weight and sprang to my hooves to see the machete wielding raider lying in a pool of his own blood. I nodded in thanks to River as she and crash walked into the room. She quickly replaced the bullet she had just spent and snapped her revolver closed.

I held up my hoof for silence as I heard a noise above me. I could faintly here a raider shouting. “They know we’re here,” I stated grimly. “Where is security control?” I asked Crash.

“Hell if I know, get me to a turret or something and I can figure out where it receives commands from.” He responded.

“Alright, keep an eye out for turrets,” I instructed, leading my small team deeper into the prison.

We passed through a short hallway and came to a closed set of double doors. A large faded sign above them stated ‘Cafeteria’. I cracked open one of the doors and peaked inside. A group of six raiders were headed our way. I motioned for my companions to find cover as I ducked behind a drinking fountain and drew my four barreled shotgun. Headcrash and River squeezed into an alcove, weapons drawn and waiting.

The first raider through the door lost half his face to a spray of buckshot. His body was pushed to the side before it could even fall as more of the raiders rushed out. We opened up on the group as they quickly approached us. I took off one pony’s leg and blew out the chest of another before having to concentrate on defending myself from a large pony wielding a sledgehammer. I ducked his strike, the heavy weapon smashing into the wall with enough force to crack the concrete. I heard River and Crash firing at the last two raiders hiding behind the cafeteria doors and taking potshots at us with a couple old rifles. The buck I was fighting roared, dropping his sledgehammer, as he was shot in the back by one of his companions. I quickly took the chance to drop him with a blast from my shotgun. I heard a pained shout from the door as one of the raiders took a bullet from River. I heard the last one run off, her hooves clacking against the linoleum floor of the cafeteria. I saw River walk through the door. The raider she had wounded began to beg for his life before another gunshot rang out and he was silent.

We quickly reloaded our weapons and gathered some supplies from the dead raiders, some additional ammo and a frag grenade. We moved up into the now empty cafeteria, passing vulgar graffiti and the remains of the raiders’ previous victims.

“Aha,” Crash exclaimed, pointing to an alcove on the wall about three meters above the floor. A turret sat powered down inside it, “Help me stack some of the cafeteria tables so I can get to it.”

River, Crash, and I quickly had a couple tables stacked up against the wall, just enough for the green unicorn to reach the turret. He clambered up and began working, attaching some wires from his pip-buck into a slot on the turret’s front. “This’ll just take a minute,” he called down. Riverbed and I kept our senses sharp, waiting for any sign of a raider counterattack.

A couple minutes later Headcrash hopped down from the tables with a grin on his face. “It’s up a floor and above were we came in,” he announced. “There’s probably a stairwell in the next hall.”

I nodded, “Alright, let’s keep moving.” I ordered as I went to continue heading towards our objective. Crash and I turned as River coughed loudly behind us. She was holding up her board and it took me a minute to make out the words in the faint light of the prison cafeteria.

If we run into a big red and white raider let me kill him

The look in her eyes was still there. I nodded in understanding and continued to move. I quietly moved up to the doors leading out of the cafeteria and cracked one open. I could see a tripwire on the other side. I waved my companions back and waited for them to get back a ways before tripping the trap with a quick push of the door. I slammed it back closed and galloped away as I heard a cluster of grenades hit the floor. A hollow crump rocked the air and the door fell to the ground with its hinges blasted to oblivion.

Just past the destroyed door was a stairwell. I pointed at it and the two ponies nodded in understanding. I moved up it slowly, checking for traps and ambushes. We reached the next floor and moved down the hallway we entered towards the security control. We passed a number of empty rooms and a couple hastily constructed traps before coming to a heavy steel door with a warning above it. ‘Control Room. No Unauthorized Personnel’.

I slowly cracked open the door. Immediately a hail of gunfire rang off it. I pulled out the grenade I had taken from one of the dead raiders and turned to my team.

Send them in first. Use them as a distraction. No.

“I’m going to throw this in there without arming it. When the raiders scatter we need to get into the room and in cover.” I instructed quietly. The gunfire had stopped pinging against the door. Crash and River nodded and move to either side of the door, ready to burst inside after I threw the grenade. “Let me go in first, then follow me.”

Fuck you old me.

I knocked open the door and threw the grenade inside, almost immediately hearing a raider shout out a warning. A random scattering of hoof beats sounded as the raiders scattered. I shoved the door open the rest of the way and slid into cover behind a desk a little ways from the door. I snapped off a shot with my shotgun, wounding one of the raiders. The desk shuddered as Crash slid in next to me. River had moved to another desk a few meters from ours.

I quickly took in the room, scanning for any possible dangers or advantages. Ancient monitors and computer equipment covered the walls, and a bunch of desks were spread across the large room. Against the room’s back wall, a door appeared to lead deeper into the prison. I popped out of cover and fired a barrel as the raiders recovered from my ploy and began shooting back at us. Bullets punched into the desk we were hiding behind, leaving dents and small holes in its thick metal hide. Crash used his magic to raise his pistol above us and fired blindly at the raiders. One of them screamed as he was hit by a lucky shot.

More shots rang against the desk, preventing me from moving. River took advantage of the distraction and stood, able to unload her entire cylinder and drop a couple of the raiders before they turned to fire on her. I quickly leaned out of cover, but instantly ducked back as a raider that had been waiting for me sprayed his assault rifle in my direction. I waited for the pony to unload his magazine, then steeled myself as the weapon went silent. I jumped behind another desk and fired the remaining three barrels of my shotgun into him and the mare standing to his right, dropping both in a pool of blood.

Only two raiders were left, hiding behind a pair of desks on the opposite side of the room. Crash floated his reloaded pistol across the expanse as he leaned out of cover, a look of concentration plastered across his face. He hovered the pistol over one of the raiders and pointed it down. The raider yelped in surprise as the pistol bucked in the air, unloading into him. He fell out of cover, bleeding from a few gunshot wounds.

“Shitfuck!” Crash shouted as the remaining raider shot his exposed head. His pistol fell to the ground as he lost his concentration and fell back into cover. I finished reloading my shotgun and snapped it shut, but before I could take out the last raider River’s pistol spat three times and dropped the pony.

“I’m okay! I’m-ow-fine!” Crash called out as he got to his hooves. Blood was dripping from the stump of his right ear. “I think the-fuck- security mainframe is in there,” he explained pointing towards the door against the room’s back wall. He reached up to the stump of his ear and grimaced. “Fuck.”

I nodded and we moved towards the door, but I held up my hoof and motioned the others to stop as a sense of foreboding overcame me. Less than a second later the door smashed outwards as a massive pony stomped out into the room, roaring. He appeared to be made more of muscles than flesh. His head was white, but the rest of his coat was matted, dirty, and red. He looked like he bathed in blood. His spiked armor had a pair of small, grey wings protruding from the back.Before Crash and I could react Riverbed was galloping towards the raider, screaming and firing her pistol. A few of the rounds punched into his flesh, the wounds almost unidentifiable on his bloodstained coat. He bellowed and swiped at River as she slid under him, coming out on the other side and hopping to her hooves as the raider attempted to turn around. She kicked his flank as hard as she could. She bounced off and tumbled to the ground as the raider laughed darkly. He bent down, picked River up by her cloak, and flung her across the room. He spat the torn garment out of his mouth and charged towards where he had thrown the small mare. A small grey pony ducked out, barely able to dodge the brute's attack. She limped around behind him, looking for a weakness as he recovered from the blow.

“River!” I shouted over the massive raider’s roars as I tossed my shotgun across the room to her. She deftly caught it and pressed the barrel against the back of one of the buck’s knees, the concentrated shot tearing the limb off. The brute roared in pain while River quickly blew off his other leg. He started to pull himself around, trying to face his tormentor. River ducked a clumsy swipe and proceeded to destroy his forelegs.

She shouted wordlessly as she stomped on the buck’s head, his pained cries slowly fading. Tears were streaming down her face as she continued to punish the raider. Crash moved up and gently pulled her from the body as brain matter and blood started to coat her legs. She slumped into the green unicorn’s forelegs as he held her, and began to sob loudly. With her cloak gone Crash and I were met with a terrible sight.

Riverbed was, or at least had been, a Pegasus. Her grey coat was laced in a terrible tapestry of cruel and deliberate scars. What stood out the most was where her wings had been. Two nubs poked out of her back, one on each side. I turned and looked away, not sure how to cope with the horrible feeling in my gut.

“Goddesses…” Crash breathed sadly.

I waited a bit longer for the feeling subside and turned back to face the pair. Crash had removed the wings from the raider’s armor and had given them to River. She was sitting, holding the two rotting appendages to her chest, still sobbing. Crash was now sitting next to her, his foreleg on her shoulder trying to give her a small bit of comfort. She let out a wail and buried her face into Crash’s chest.

Comments

[The Crimson Reaper]

Wow, apocolapse bulk biceps is a dick...