Fallout Equestria: Heartless

by dmgd_mind

Chapter 3: Melting Point

Chapter 3: Melting Point

I didn’t stop running. Whether you would call it luck or divine intervention, I made it through the sewers and back to the Luna Line without encountering a single creature. In my state I would not have been able to deal with them.

The sun was rising as the raider hideout came into view. I shivered as my gaze drifted across the remains of their grisly trophies; I understood why most ponies feared them.
I pushed the rogue thought to the side and continued into the building, passing the corpses of the raiders I had killed earlier. I made it to the room where the white mare had been held captive and pushed open the door, my eyes immediately drawn to a dirty white heap chained to the ground. Blood was slowly pooling around the stump of left foreleg and a dirty knife lay on the ground beside her.
She wasn’t moving.
“nononononono,” I murmured as I rushed over to her. I nuzzled her neck, feeling for a pulse. I felt cold inside as time stretched on without any movement from her. “Please. Please don’t be dead…” I choked out, “I don’t deserve it but please, I need this. I need something to make up for what I’ve done. Please” The last word was choked with tears.
Thumpthump
My ears shot up as I felt a very weak pulse push through her neck. “thank you,” I whispered to the air. I took a step back to study her. To my horror I saw she had tried to free herself by sawing off her foreleg. I felt as if I had been punched in the gut. I did that. It was my fault. I quickly fished my last potion from my saddlebag and poured it down her throat as gently as I could. She spluttered quietly as she swallowed the liquid, the potent magic sealing the stump of her foreleg. “I’m so sorry” I whispered into her ear.
I frantically began searching through the room for a key, finally finding one in an empty ammo tin. I ran back to the mare and pushed it into the first manacle. It didn’t fit. I threw it to the side angrily and drew my pistol; she didn’t have time for me to waste searching. I attempted to place myself between her and the chains as I shot them one by one.
Finally free, I gently slung her onto my back. She was very light, worryingly so. She needed to see a doctor, and fast.
I left the raider camp as fast as I could, doing my best not to jostle the unconscious mare on my back as I headed towards Tenpony tower.

---

“No.”
“What!?” I responded angrily to the security guard, “Why the hell not?!”
The stallion cocked his head and gave me a strange look before continuing, “Security Chief Darkstar has decided you are guilty of raider activities and are no longer allowed in the tower.”
I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to buck this pony’s head. I could feel the other guards watching me, waiting for a reason to shoot. And I had a life to take care of now. “Can I at least talk to Darkstar?” I asked in a much calmer manner after a I cooled down a bit.
“He’s busy,” the guard responded gruffly, staring me down.
I opened my mouth to say something then thought better of it. I turned and walked away, fighting down this new feeling, this anger. I couldn’t give in to it. She needed me.
I thought through different places I could go, where she would be safe. Now that I couldn’t stay at Tenpony I wasn’t welcome anywhere in Manehatten. I would have to move on. That was probably for the best, something in my new state of mind told me that being feared by everypony wasn’t good. I had a safehouse in Fetlock, the suburbs surrounding Manehatten. I could stop there to let her rest and figure out where I was going next.
A new destination firmly in mind, I set off without a single glance back to the tower that had been my home for years.

---

By the time I reached my safehouse dawn was breaking the next day. I had been forced to move slowly to avoid groups of raiders and slavers scattered throughout the ruins. Alone I knew I could have taken them, but I had a very precious cargo to protect.
I stepped off the street and approached the ramshackle two story house. Most of its windows were blow out and its cheerful yellow paint was stained and peeling, but it was still structurally sound. I gently placed her against the wooden fence surrounding the home and walked towards the front door, passing a few raider corpses. I heard a few whirs and clicks as the turrets I had hidden inside the building scanned me. I stepped inside the door and walked into a very bare living room, the only furnishings were a table and a computer that sat upon it. I quickly shut down the turret array, and then trotted outside to pick her back up. Gently I picked her up and brought her inside the building, carrying her upstairs and placing her in the one bed still in the house. I tucked her into the dirty sheets and went downstairs to get her some food and water.
I rummaged through the kitchen cabinets for something she could ingest, finally finding a few carrot bouillon cubes. I dropped them into a pot filled with bottled water and set it on the stove to boil. I stared impatiently as the flames licked the sides of the pot. Finally, after what felt like hours, the water was rolling and bubbling at a steady pace. I grabbed a wooden spoon and gave the mixture a few quick stirs to mix in the bouillon, and then poured it into a large mug.
I moved as quickly as I could without spilling the soup. I blew on the drink a few times to help it cool down and let it sit for a few minutes.
While I was waiting I examined her more closely. She appeared to be just barely an adult, maybe 18 years old. The few places where her coat was unmarred by dirt and other material it shined through in the purest white I had ever seen. Her chest was rising and falling steadily, the potion I had given her had helped her recover from her blood loss. Her ribs were showing through her skin painfully. She hadn’t eaten in a long time.
I sipped the bouillon, making certain that it was not too hot for her, then gently lifted her head and placed the mug against it. At first she greedily sucked down the liquid, soon half the mug was gone. I tilted the mug a little further, causing her to gag on the sudden onrush of soup. Her eyes shot open and she screamed, thrashing and pushing herself away from me. The mug was knocked out of my hoof and onto the floor
She stopped screaming as she curled up into a ball, her eyes wide with fear staring at me. I suddenly realized I was still wearing my mask. I held out one hoof to try to calm her down and reached up with my left to remove the mask. Her eyes briefly strayed across the multitude of scars lacing the limb before refocusing on my now revealed face.
We sat in silence for a long time, I was unsure what to say to her and I had no idea what was racing through her head. Finally I took a deep breath and said the only thing I could, “I’m sorry.” The look in her eyes changed from one of fear to one of confusion as she continued to sit in silence so I continued, “I’m sorry I didn’t help you. I’m sorry for how I treated you. I’m sorry for...for making you do that,” at this last statement I motioned at the stump of her left foreleg and looked away, too ashamed to look her in the eyes anymore, expecting her to scream or yell or shout.
Instead I heard her say simply, “You came back.” Her words were soft and kind, like nothing I had heard before. It was beautiful. “You’re the first pony to ever come back for me,” She continued softly. “You came back.”
I turned back to her and stared into her eyes. They were a deep, beautiful purple color. A tear slowly fell from her cheek. A sad smile played across her face. Somehow I could see years of pain and abuse buried inside her, a tapestry of scars to rival my own. She shifted her body and leaned up against me, closing her eyes as a few more tears slid from them. She felt warm and wonderful and I did not want it to end. I looked down at her; the hope emanating from her was tangible. She needed me as much as I needed her.
I waited for a while, basking in her presence, before I spoke again, “My name is…my name is Night Breeze.”
“I’m Canter” She replied softly, eyes still closed tight.
We stayed with each other throughout the night.