Fallout Equestria: Black Cat

by Rixizu

Chapter 29

"H-how is she?" Scavenger asked trying not to fidget.

How is it that Break keeps getting into these situations? He turned his back for a moment, and now she's in critical care in a hospital. Thank Celestia that Petunia had a good doctor in town.

“Ah, well.” The doctor looked over his notes. “She will be fine. The few healing potions we have are doing their job, but she has a serious fracture in her ribs. Moving around will be difficult for her for some time. It will all heal naturally. No need to overdo it with the healing potions. I will give her a painkiller that will help with the pain.”

Scavenger sighed in relief. “T-thank you d-doctor.”

“Just let her get some rest for now.” The doctor said before leaving them to be alone.

Scavenger grabbed Break by the hoof and squeezed it. He sat by her side trying to give her the best support he could.

“How’s your friend?” Loopy said when he entered the room. Despite being nothing more than an old bedroom in an almost broken-down house, but it did its job well enough. It had more medical equipment than one would expect from such a small town.

“S-she’ll recover.” Scavenger replied.

"A big hero she is," Loop said, "one has to wonder if all the crazy stories about her are true. Would you believe your friend is the only one that got hurt in the fight? Unbelievable. There were 52 raiders in that attack party!"

Scavenger gave him a faint smile. “S-She’s good with the impossible.”

Loopy scanned Break with his eyes. He didn’t seem impressed, but he shrugged at the point. “Anyway, your friend better heal up quick. The Mayor of Zinnia is paranoid about another attack. In retribution for the humiliating defeat here no doubt."

The thought of another attack sent a chill down his spine and who knew how many raiders would attack next time?

“W-What are the ponies of Petunia going to do?” Scavenger asked. At this rate, it might be better for them to abandon their homes and flee to Zinnia.

"Not sure," Loopy replied, "some are leaving, but most are staying here. A little attack like this isn't going scare them off. Many of them believe the threat of the raiders is no more. Foals, all of them. This isn't over. They would be safer in Zinnia."

"We should get Break there as well." Scavenger would feel better with Zinnia's ship around Break to protect her.

“Aye, that would be for the best.” The doctor said. “Here isn’t safe anymore. These damn endless hordes of raiders make almost nowhere safe and they say their leader to be an actual monster.”

“I agree.” They loaded Break into a cart and it stirred her awake.

“Uh, what happened?” Break asked her voice weak. She lifted her head and grunted in pain.

“W-we’re getting you to safety.” Scavenger replied.

“Taking our hero, are you?” Calling Card, the leader of the village, said.

"Of course, it isn't safe here and she's hurt," Loopy said a little too defensively.

Calling sighed. "I see. It's for the best I suppose. She can get better treatment elsewhere."

"Calling." Break said and the stallion flew to her side in a moment.

“Yes.” He said.

"Stay safe okay." Break said. "Who knows if they will come back."

Calling looked down at her with tenderness and nodded. "I will, we'll be working hard so they can never threaten us again. Have a few ideas to give any raiders that dare attack us a bad day. Next time we wouldn’t be caught so unprepared. "

Break let out of a sigh of relief. "That's good."

Calling took her hoof. "Just remember that you will always be welcome here. The upstairs bedroom is always open."

Though in obvious pain, Break smiled and gave him a hug. Calling Card's wife also gave her a hug and gave her words of encouragement

"Have a nice trip dear." Calling Card's wife said. The entire town waved them goodbye and the warm farewell felt good. This level of kindness wasn't a common sight in this day and age.

As they traveled across the barren wasteland, Scavenger’s mind turned towards Green Mile. How long had it been since they'd done something like that? It seemed like an eternity or two. Heck, more than that. They were supposed to be special someponies, but she just had to run off after Break disappeared and thought dead. Off to do something reckless no doubt. Well, everything would be right again once she learned that her cousin and best friend was safe. He thought back to happier days as the caravan rode on to Zinnia.

---

The scene in Zinnia was tense as they rode into in. Business went on as normal outside the ship, but everypony seemed to be on high alert ready for trouble. Many ponies worried about yet another raider attack and took the failed attack on Petunia to be a bad sign. Break was admitted into one of the hospital rooms deep inside the ship. She still needed plenty of rest and Scavenger let her be for now. He hadn’t much rest over the last few days and wanted to make the most of this moment of peace. Scavenger fell into a dreamless sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow of the inn room he rented.

He awoke to a banging on his room door. Scavenger looked at the clock and found that he had slept at least 14 hours. Typical. He stretched and trotted over to the door to find his old friend Burn.

“Ah good, they told me I might find you here.” Burn said.

“I-Is something wrong? I-Is Break okay?” Scavenger asked terrified something might have happened.

"No, no!" Burn held up a placating hoof. "Everything is fine. I just got back from down below and your friend is doing fine."

Scavenger let out a sigh of relief. “Oh.”

“I just wanted to ask if you want to do some shopping with me.” Burn said. “There are parts I need to buy for my heater and I thought you might want to join me.”

A smile blooming on Scavenger’s face. “Y-you don’t have some in stock?”

Burn laughed. “No sadly, but I think I know who might. Your skill in scavenging will prove vital for helping me get the best parts.”

Scavenger knew what his friend’s scheme. Burn was trying to put both their minds to rest and have some fun before the crap hit the fan. A day out doing nothing sounded like a treat and Scavenger was out the door in a moment after taking a quick shower. He couldn't wait to put his bartering skills to the test. Zinnia was known for its intense bartering sessions.

Scavenger grinned as his friend and the shopkeeper of this tent screamed obscenities at each other. Both refused to back down on their offered price. Though violent words were screamed, it was all in good fun. These two had been long friends and this more of a game to them than anything hurtful. Not that one could tell that listening to them.

“Did your mom drink herself to a stupor when she was caring you?” The shopkeeper asked. “45 caps and that’s the lowest I’ll go.”

“For this piece of junk?” Brun replied. “Did you get it from an alicorn’s butthole? This isn’t even worth half that you idiot! 13 caps!”

The shopkeeper scoffed. “13 caps? You brain-dead dolt! Some of us are trying to make a profit here. 43 and no lower."

The two argued some more with plenty of yelling and obscenities on both side and they settled on the price of 38 caps. Both looked satisfied by the outcome. Despite Burn claiming the part came from an alicorn’s anus, the piece was a great condition and would do its job well and could tell that by just looked at it. Now that the bartering was concluded, they exchanged pleasant small talk.

“Yeah, like I said.” The shopkeeper said. “It fell right from the cloud cover. Nasty crash with no survivors. It was a real state of the art piece of machinery. Makes you wonder what they’re up to in that cloud cover of theirs.”

“H-Hiding no doubt.” It seemed so stupid to Scavenger that the pegasi above the clouds would hoard so much tech when the world under them suffered so much. Heaven-born pegasi were all cowards and if they didn’t want to help their pony brethren than fine. They didn’t need them.

“No doubt.” Burn said. “Get anything nice from it?”

“A few things.” The shopkeeper replied. “It wasn’t a battleship or anything, but it had an impressive arsenal. Its aft cannons could take out a tank if it so wished in a single shot.”

A thought struck Scavenger. “Y-you don’t still have it around? We might need it if raiders strike!”

The shopkeeper shook his head. “No, sold all of them to a wealthy collector. Said she planned to make her own with a little reverse engineering.”

“F-figures.” Scavenger sighed.

“Hey, you know, it’s fine.” The shopkeeper forced a grin. “We have the infamous Black Cat on our side! I saw them bring her into the ship yesterday. The whole town is buzzing about it. Maybe we aren’t so doomed after all. She brings death and destruction to all that oppose her!”

How in the world did Break get such an overinflated reputation? He’d even heard rumors that she might be Celestia reborn! Scavenger gave the stallion an uncommitted nob and he and Burn went on their way.

“The Black Cat huh?” Burn said in the silence. “Do you think the rumors are true about her? Nopony can quite agree on what she is."

“N-no clue.” Scavenger replied deciding that would be his best answer. The last thing he wanted to do was fuel those rumors.

After a few more hours of shopping, they trotted back to the ship and he lifted a bag full of supplies in his aura. Scavenger felt refreshed and calmer now. He didn’t realize how much he needed this. When Break got better, he promised himself to find a bowling alley for Break so they could play a few sets. It seemed like an eternity since they last bowled together and Break needed so fun time to herself too.

He found her still in a bed, but she was up and talking to a young stallion. Starlight if he remembered corrected. Break brightened as he entered.

“I see you went shopping.” Break said. “Did you have fun? I don’t think I’ve ever met a stallion that liked shopping as much as you do.”

“I-it was nice.” Scavenger replied. “H-how are you feeling?”

“Could be better.” Break grunted when she turned her body towards him. “Get around stinks, but in time I should recover.”

“With healing potions, she’ll fully recover in a week or so.” Starlight said.

“T-that’s good.” Scavenger said smiling. “H-hopefully, t-the raiders will t-think twice before striking a-again.”

Break looked down. "I hope so. Their leader sounds like a real nasty piece of work.”

“If I were him, I would be hiding in a hole somewhere.” Starlight said. “You’ve chased his ponies off two times already. He’d be crazy to try again.”

Break gave a non-committal grunt and quickly changed the subject. They spent the next two hours talking about nothing in particular. Starlight wasn’t that bad of a colt if a bit too earnest. Scavenger and Starlight left Break when it became dark deciding it would be best for her to get some rest. Though lifted by the uneventful day, something still troubled Scavenger as he walked through the ship’s lower corridors. The fight with the Lionheart and his raider gang wasn’t done and he felt that truth in his bone. Worse, Break wouldn’t be there to help if he attacked. She was in no shape to fight.

Scavenger stopped and laid on the cold metal floor his back to a wall. He felt so helpless. It wasn’t fair Break had to do all the fighting. She didn’t deserve this at all. It seemed like everywhere she went, they needed her ghost powers.

How did she even get that power anyway? It made no sense at all. Somehow getting that white fake alicorn’s leg gave her this ability. How did that even work? Was it something in his blood?

Blood. There was a thought. Did it contain magic or a virus? It might be worth looking into. Not that Scavenger knew much about this sort of thing. He was a scrap collector, not a scientist. Besides, this knowledge was dangerous. This kind of power in the wrong hooves would be devastating. All they had to is hold out until Break was better and…

An alarm blared throughout the ship. “Everypony to battle stations. W-we are under attack. Please anypony that can fight to get to the deck. The rest go to your rooms and stay safe. R-Raiders are attacking. Dear Celestia help us.”

Ponyfeathers! Scavenger ran towards Break’s room and found her trying to get out of bed.

“Y-you can’t fight!” Scavenger yelled over the blare of the alarm. “Y-you’re too hurt.

Break winced as she tried to stand. Despite the pain, she moved forward. "No choice. Doomed otherwise. From the announcement, things look bad."

No! What could he do? If she went out there, she would die! Not in her condition. He looked around and found a sedative. Before he even knew what he was doing, he injected it into Break's leg. She stared at him with a hurt look before falling unconscious.

No, why did I do that for? He gently placed Break back on her bed and covered her with a sheet. What if she was right? I’ve ruined everything. We are all dead! No, I can’t think that way.

Blood. He remembered his theory. What if her blood gave ponies powers? No, that was crazy. Besides, injecting a pony with a wrong blood type was dangerous and he didn’t even know her blood type.

The same announcement went over the loudspeakers again firmer this time but with a noticeable tremor in it. Dear Celestia. How many raiders were out there? Was it possible the impenetrable Zinnia was about to fall?

Scavenger grabbed a syringe. Did he have a choice? He was dead either way. He poked her in the leg with the needle and pulled out a generous portion of blood. Scavenger cleaned the injury and put a band-aid on it first before doing anything.

Scavenger readied the needed and pointed the top towards his own leg. His hooves shook as he prepared himself for the injection and told himself several times, he needed to do this.

No, this is ridiculous. Scavenger placed the needle down on a table. I’m no hero and the idea this would even work is crazy.

The sounds of fighting and gunshots entered from above and Scavenger put his face into his hooves. This was it. They would die and no escape for any of them. Dear Celestia and Luna, there were screams now and they echoed through the ship. It would be them next. He looked at his sleeping friend and stroked her cheek.

I’m sorry Break. There’s nothing I can do. I’m not like you. I can’t stare death in the face and laugh.

He thought back to Brights and how he couldn’t save her either. His whole life had been nothing but a failure. His parents abandoned him in a pit in the middle of nowhere as a small foal and survived only by luck when a group of passing scavenger ponies discovered him. Unwanted, unneeded, and waste of life and breath. That was all he was. When his parents looked at him, did they see a failure or worse a worthless coward?

More screaming and Scavenger put is hooves over his ears to make it stop. He jumped when he heard banging on the door and fell to the floor. After scrambling to his hooves, he steadied his nerves.

“W-who is it?” He asked.

“It’s me.” Starlight said. “Hurry, open up!”

Scavenger did as instructed and tore open the door and closed it behind Starlight.

"She's still here?" Starlight asked. He clapped his hooves together, but Break stayed asleep.

“I-I put her to s-sleep.” Scavenger looked down ashamed. “S-she was too h-hurt to fight.”

Starlight sighed. “It was for the best perhaps. No way anypony could fight all that!”

“W-what h-happened?”

Starlight rubbed his hair with his hooves panic and fear all over his face. “That monster brought his whole army. Every single one! They swarmed all over us with more ponies than one could count. Hundreds of them Scavenger! Hundreds!”

“S-so, everypony is dead?” Scavenger asked.

“No, only the ponies that fought back.” Starlight replied. “It was a massacre! They are keeping the townsponies alive for now. To… play with…”

Scavenger paled knowing full well what that meant.

“But this is good.” Starlight said. “With her alive there is hope. What we need is to… ugh, I can’t believe I’m saying this. Getting the Cosas help. This army can’t go unchecked. We need to find Robin and warn Petunia too while we are at it. Break mentioned he was close by. Grab her, but be gentle, please. If we are careful, we might slip away.”

It wasn’t much, but they had a plan. They needed to get Break to safety at least, somehow. “A-aren’t t-t-they swarming the p-place?”

“Yes.” Starlight kicked the leg of a stand. “We need a miracle to get out of this one.”

A miracle. Scavenger looked at the needle full of Break’s blood again. If he gained powers like Break’s then maybe… Before he could lose his nerve again, he grabbed the needle and stabbed himself with it and injected himself.

“What the hay are you?”

Scavenger collapsed to the ground. His entire body felt like it was on fire, no worse than that. Everything around him danced in a random but beautiful pattern. Colors like he had never seen before flitted all around him. His body burned hotter and he worried his body might erupt in flame. He screamed but the pain drowned out the sound. This was it, he was going to die.

No, this couldn’t be the end. Break and Green Mile needed him. If he didn’t do something, his best friend in the world would die. The raider would break in and do unimaginable things to her. He focused on that. It was the only light in all this pain.

“Finally, you found your backbone.” A voice in his head said. “Took you long enough.”

The pain lessened enough for Scavenger to have enough sense to see where the voice was coming from. He saw nopony but Starlight who looked at him with concern on his face.

“Up here.” The voice said. “You really are hopeless, you know that?”

Scavenger yelped in surprise at what he saw. Above him was a green pony like-figure with tough looking green scales with claws instead of hooves. Its features were both pony like and reptilian with sharp razor-like teeth that filled its mouth.

“Whatever, we don’t have time for this.” The figure said with a lopsided grin. “We have work to do.”

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