Fallout Equestria: Heartless

by dmgd_mind

Chapter 7: Glacial Movement

Chapter 7: Glacial Movement

We spent the next week hiding in the small office, letting my wounds heal. Canter was doing her best to take care of me, but it was readily apparent that she didn’t know what she was doing. Whether it was her attempting to sanitize my wounds with massive globs of antiseptic or burning some of our dehydrated rations, I didn’t much care about her ineptness. She had kissed me.

We still didn’t talk much, but we spent most of the week together. A few times a nagging voice in the back of my head reminded me that Canter had never said she loved me, but I was able to push it aside. We were together, we had each other, and I told myself that even if she didn’t love me I was happy as long as I was with her.

I knew that everything was not well with me however. The voices in my head were appearing with steadily increasing frequency. Thankfully I was becoming better at distinguishing them from my own self, but a few times I had almost slipped. My reoccurring dream had remained with me as well, and each time it happened I remembered a little more. Now I was able to put a name to the face of the blue alicorn that I had been hallucinating. She was Luna. I was seeing a dead goddess.

Canter’s soft voice brought me out of my thoughts. “We only have enough food for another day.”

I nodded. I had only packed enough food for a week. I hadn’t planned for one of us getting injured. “There’s a mini-mart a few blocks from here. We should be able to scavenge enough food to make it to Laketown. We’ll need to refill our water bottles at the drinking fountain here before we go though.” I got to my hooves with a grunt. Moving about still hurt, but it was no longer excruciating. “As long as we move at a slower pace I should be okay.”

“Are you sure you can make it?” Canter asked with concern. She reached out and gently put her hoof on my shoulder. “You’re still not fully recovered.”

“I know, but we can’t wait around for me. We need to move, even if it is day right now. As it is I’ve already tied us down here too long.” I felt a bit better when she was touching me. I smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, “We’ll be fine.”

---

It took us about an hour to reach the mini-mart, my infirmity causing us to move at a snail’s pace. The small building looked abandoned, its windows had shattered long ago and I could see dust floating through the air inside thanks to the midday sun. “Let me go in first,” I instructed as I drew the sawed off shotgun I had taken at the old hospital. “Follow behind me,” I managed to spit out around the gun’s grip. Canter nodded and drew her pistol, looking a little nervous at the prospect of having to use it.

I opened the store’s door and looked about for any threats. Nothing was moving but I could see the dust had been disturbed by some sort of skittering movement. “I think there are radroaches in here.” I said, nodding to the tracks in the dust. Canter moved up next to me, looking around the area. “Tell me if you see a light switch,” I instructed as I moved deeper into the store

Canter moved up a little and peeked around a group of shelves, drawing back with a quiet ‘eep!’ “I see the roaches,” she whispered, her words slightly slurred by the gun in her mouth. I nodded and moved over, looking down the aisle. A pair of radroaches was sitting silently near the stores back wall about ten meters away.

I started to draw a bead on one, but stopped and turned to canter. “Why don’t you try to take them out?” I asked with an encouraging smile. Just kill them and be done with it. It will just be a waste of ammo for her to try. I ignored the old voice that popped into my head and backed up a bit so Canter could get a clear field of fire.

She looked nervously at me, so I just nodded and motioned to the radroaches, still giving her an encouraging smile. She took a few slow steps so she was looking down the center of the aisle and pointed her pistol at the closest radroach. She held her position for a minute, trying to steady her aim, and then tongued the trigger. She jerked back a little in surprise at the recoil of the weapon. Her shot was wide, impacting the wall about a meter from her target. The radroaches turned towards us with a loud hissing noise but held their positions. She turned and gave me a concerned look.

“I know you can do it Canter, just focus and breathe.” Her brow furrowed a bit but she turned back to her target and started taking slow, deep breathes. This time the pistol’s crack was accompanied by the crunch of a bullet punching through the radroach’s exoskeleton. The remaining radroach gave a hiss and started hopping and crawling towards us. Canter backed up in panic, unloading the rest of the pistol’s clip at the approaching vermin. She missed completely. After her pistol started clicking on empty I quickly snapped a shot at the creature, the buckshot turning it to goo at such close range.

Canter calmed down quickly and looked over at me sheepishly, “sorry. I didn’t mean to panic.” She was blushing through her white coat and it looked extremely cute.

I gave a little laugh and smiled at her, “not at all. You handled yourself fine for your first time.” No she didn’t the voice said. “Next time try to keep your wits about you though. If you panic in combat you’re much more likely to…” I trailed off, not liking the idea of Canter being hurt, or worse. “Anyway, it was a good try. Now let’s find the lights and enough supplies to make it to Laketown.”

---

We had stuffed our saddlebags with canned vegetables, some dried fruit, and a few other goods. I found a bottle of Sparkle-Cola hiding on a shelf in the back of the store and had hidden it in my bags without Canter noticing. I was going to give it to her as gift later. I grinned, hoping she would like it.

Forming a relationship with my principal is asking for disaster. The unfamiliar voice returned. It had been absent so far today and I had been waiting for it to pop back up. But how am I supposed to control how I feel? How can I deny my love for the most incredible mare in Equestria? I shook off the thought. I could love Canter and protect her at the same time.

As if reading my mind she sidled up next to me and nuzzled my neck, “Are we ready to move? My bags are pretty much full.”

I rested my head against her neck and sighed contentedly before answering, “Yes. We should have enough to get to Laketown, even with the increased time for my injuries.” We headed to the door and stepped outside, almost running into a grizzled grey unicorn stallion wearing a long leather coat.

I drew my shotgun as Canter gave a yelp of surprise. “woahohohoho!” the grey pony exclaimed backing up, “I ain’t meanin’ yall harm.” I frowned and narrowed my eyes at the stallion as Canter moved behind me. The sound of a shotgun being racked drew my attention away from him. An armored griffin was balancing on her hind legs and pointing a nasty looking scattergun at me, “You hurt the boss and I kill you.” She stated simply in a surprisingly cutesy voice. A Brahmin was standing behind the pair, one of its heads regarding us with a docile gaze.

I slowly holstered the shotgun, keeping my eyes on the group opposite us.

“Well, I’m certainly glad ya’ ain’t hankerin’ for a fight,” the grey pony gave a big grin, “my name’s Trader Joe, the traveling salesman. That fine lookin’ lady with the big gun is Daisy. And the big girl behind me is Meredith. And her brother Greg.”

After a short silence Canter cleared her throat and spoke from behind me, “Umm, I’m Canter and he’s Night Breeze.”

“Well it’s certainly a pleasure ta’ meet two ponies out here who don’t wanna kill us! Even if one of ya’ is wearing a skull on his head. ” Joe exclaimed, still beaming. When Canter said my name Daisy gave me a strange look, then leaned over and whispered something to Joe. “Where yall headed?”

“Laketown,” I spat gruffly, not trusting Joe’s ever-exuberant demeanor.

“Well ain’t that just the coincidence of coincidences!” Joe gave a little hop, shifting his coat and revealing his cutey mark-a random assortment of goods. “That’s where we’re headed too!” I could tell Canter was starting to warm to his cheerful attitude as she moved up next to me, no longer hiding at my back. “Ya’ know what, ya’ look like ya’ can handle yerself in a fight Night, want to come with us? Safety in numbers and all that. Plus, I’ll throw some caps yer way.”

I started to refuse the offer when Canter nudged at my side. “Come on, let’s go with them. They don’t seem bad, and even if they try to hurt us you’ll be able to protect me.” Her eyes were pleading, tugging at my heart.

I sighed and turned to Joe, “alright, it’s a deal.” I paused for a second as a thought struck me. “I’m a little shot up so I can’t move that fast.”

“Oh that’s fine, we haven’t been goin’ at much of a pace either, Meredith and Greg have a bad knee. Anyway, we can get acquainted on the road.”

I nodded reluctantly, and soon Canter and I were on our way. I did my best to ignore Joe as he prattled on about anything and everything, but his cheerful demeanor slowly grew on me and I felt a little more comfortable traveling with them after a few hours had passed.

---

After we had made camp that night, Daisy approached me. Canter and Joe had already fallen asleep, and Meredith/Greg was snoring loudly. Somehow the griffin managed to project a smirk even through her beak. “She doesn’t know who you are, does she?” Her innocent voice had a tinge of darkness in it. I gave her a long look, attempting to mentally force her to shut up. She let out a little snort and continued. “There aren’t many ponies that wear a skull mask, Void. I’ve got to be honest, I have no idea how she hasn’t put two and two together if she’s from around Manehatten. You aren’t exactly unknown.”

I looked away, angry that she was pressing the issue, “Just drop it,” I hissed.

“Naw, I’m pretty curious. What’s a heartless bastard like you doing with an innocent mare like that? She your slave?” Daisy had adopted a bit of a mocking tone now.

“Fuck off,” I spat out as I turned back to her. She’s right, what am I doing with a mare? It’s not very conducive to business. The old voice returned, interrupting my growing anger towards the griffin bodyguard. “I’m with her because I love her,” I responded to the voice, immediately regretting it as I realized I had spoken out loud.

Daisy’s eyes shot up in surprise. “Huh. That actually sounded like the truth. You gone soft or something?”

“You’re one to talk,” I retorted, “I saw the way you and Joe were looking at each other.”

“Hey now, I’m not an assassin, I’m a caravan guard. I never claimed to be a heartless badass,” she said, raising her talons in a gesture of innocence. “I don’t have a reputation to keep.”

“Yeah, well I’d be happy if my reputation turned to smoke and disappeared,” I shot back. I’d be happy if all of my old self turned to smoke and disappeared.

“Alright, alright. I’ll back off. I won’t even tell your mare who you are.” She started to walk away before turning back to me with a serious look, “I’m keeping an eye on you though. Don’t forget that.”

---

“Alright mares and gentlecolts, at this rate we’ll be in Laketown by tomorrow.” Joe stated with a grin as he perused his map.

A week and a half had passed since Canter and I had joined Joe’s little caravan. It had been rather uneventful; the most trouble we had run into so far was Meredith/Greg falling into a ditch. It had taken all four of us to push the Brahmin back out. The tension between Daisy and I had begun to fade, but it was definitely still there. I could feel her eyes boring into my back every now and then while we walked. My hallucinations and the voices had eased up as well. A couple of the days had passed without them making any appearance at all.

Currently we were passing through a small valley, and as we came around a bend in the road a large and menacing building came into view. It was a large complex made of concrete and steel, a crumbling shrine to the pre-war government. “What is that?” Canter wondered aloud.

I opened my mouth to answer but was cut off by Joe. “That big ol’ thing is, or should I say was, the biggest, most secure prison in all of Equestria. Now it’s usually occupied by raiders or some other undesirables. Every couple years Laketown tries to wipe ‘em out, but they always pop back up in a couple months.”

“If we follow this road we’re going to be passing pretty close to it,” I stated, concerned. “We’re trapped in this valley if we get attacked.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Joe returned with his customary smile, “Laketown wiped them out again about a month ago.”

I looked again at the building, now about a mile distant, looking for any signs of occupation. Graffiti and corpses were liberally scattered about the complex, but that could easily have been from the raiders who had called the prison home in the past. I almost started to relax when I saw something shine in one of the prison watchtowers. “GET DOWN!” I shouted as I knocked Canter to the dusty road. A hollow crack echoed through the air and an instant later a bullet punched into the ancient asphalt of the road. I grabbed Canter with my teeth and started hauling her behind a boulder on the side of the road, attempting to be as gentle as I could. Halfway there she was able to get to her feet and make it the rest of the way. I noticed Daisy was doing the same with Joe, carrying him to the valley wall, just out of sight of the sniper sitting in the prison watchtower. Meredith/Greg had followed the pair, somehow managing to avoid getting shot even with her trundling gate.

Shouts and war cries had begun to echo down the valley from the direction of the prison, and a few heavier weapons had begun chewing up the road near our position. Over the noise of the distant gunfire I could hear Daisy angrily berating Joe for his choice of routes. I took a quick look over to Canter, a little spark of pride lit inside me as I noticed she was calmly keeping her back to the rock and looking at me with eyes that said she trusted me to protect her.

Show her that her trust has been placed with the right pony. The unfamiliar voice whispered. I nodded; usually that voice was more reasonable than the other.

Carefully I unslung my massive rifle and loaded it with a full clip. I only had six standard rounds left so I would have to make them count. I laid the gun on the ground and settled in behind it, just barely peeking out from behind the boulder. I quickly focused on the watchtower, searching for the raider sniper. I spotted a small glint and swung my aim over to it, steadying my breath. I compensated for range and wind speed before dropping a fifty-caliber round onto the raider’s head, pulping it.

I hit the stirrup and retargeted, seeking out one of the heavy gunners. I followed one of the lines of tracer fire back to a scarred yellow buck standing on the prison roof. He was wearing a saddle-mounted minigun and firing indiscriminately in our direction. A unicorn mare was crouching behind him, feeding ammunition from a large wooden crate into the weapon. I ducked back behind cover and fished out one of my incendiary rounds, ejecting the round currently in my rifle’s chamber and replacing it. I settled my sights on the crate and fired. As I had hoped, the crate had been packed with straw for cushioning and it lit up in a blaze as the magically superheated round tore through it. Hundreds of bullets started popping off a second later, shredding the pair of surprised raiders.

The amount of gunfire coming our way had lessened, but now it was almost all focused on me. I flinched as a stray shot ricocheted off the boulder and creased my shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood. I ducked back and waited for some of the gunfire to die down. I turned to check on Canter again and saw her looking with worry at my injured shoulder. “It’s nothing,” I had to shout over the sounded of the gunfire hitting our cover. It slacked off a couple seconds later as the raiders stopped to reload. I quickly ducked out and sighted on the area most of the shots were coming from, a large makeshift barricade around the prison’s main entrance. My rifle bucked four times in quick succession, each round bringing down a raider. There were still a number of them left, and I was forced to take cover again.

I heard Daisy shout something at me before jumping into the air. Her shotgun roared a couple times, completely ineffective at this distance, but she managed to get the raiders’ attention. She dove back to the ground as the air around her filled with lead. Her body jerked as a number of the bullets hit home and she smacked the ground with a thud. Canter cried out in concern, but I couldn’t worry about it now, we were still in danger.

The raiders seemed to have forgotten about me after the griffin’s ploy, and as I swung back out with my reloaded rifle I saw a couple of them wooping in victory. I had one standard round in the chamber and four incendiary in the clip. After that all I had left was my five high explosive rounds. I blew out the chest of one of the cheering ponies and quickly followed him up with three more. I cursed as I missed with my last shot. I moved to reload my weapon, but I stopped as I noticed the hoof-full of remaining raiders retreat towards the main prison building.

“Get over to Joe and Daisy,” I instructed Canter, “I’ll be right behind you.” She nodded and we both galloped across the road and joined the rest of our group. I quickly took in the situation. Daisy was coughing blood and Joe was attempting to pour an extra strength health potion down her throat. The griffin kicked and gagged as she struggled to breathe through the liquid, but she was able to swallow before passing out. Joe frantically felt at her neck, trying to find a pulse. After a minute his expression relaxed and he turned Canter and I.

“She’s alive,” he sighed, the relief in his voice was thick enough to cut.

“We need to go back and get out of this valley,” I stated, trying and failing to keep the anger out of my voice.

“I know. I fucked up,” Joe stated flatly. “Yell at me after we get outta’ here.”

“Is Daisy going to be okay?” Canter asked quietly as she looked at the griffin’s unconscious form.

“She’ll pull through, she’s a strong girl.” Joe said with a hint of pride as he turned to Canter. “She won’t let me hear the end of it though!” He laughed.

I pushed down an extremely strong urge to kick him. “You and I will have to carry her. We need to go. Now.” I bent down and slung one of the griffin’s arms over my back, and Joe did the same with her other side. “Canter, keep an eye out behind us to make sure they aren’t following.”

“Okay,” she responded, still feeling concerned for the griffin.

Goddesses damn this idiot trader to hell. If I didn’t owe Daisy for helping me take out the raiders I would have left him in this valley.

I really should leave him anyway. And the mare. The old me decided to make an appearance.

Shut up.